Jim meets his match
by catmandew
Summary: Sebastian has an old friend who will throw his and Jim's world for a curve. Seb and Jim are slightly off canon, but still fun. Starts as a T, then moves to an M at chapter 6. Not for nuns and the easily offended. Moderate cursing and sexy times. Reviews keep me (& the story) going. PLEASE REVIEW! Even if you hate it, still review. Just keep it civil; I do have feelings.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: This is my first attempt at fan fiction of any type. This idea has been rumbling around my brain for a while. It's a bit off canon in places, but that's the joy of writing your own story. The story is my own, but sadly the characters (except the OCs) are not mine. All credit to the Great and Powerful ACD, Moffat, and Gatiss. Enjoy and review. Progress will depend on reviews.

"Bash, it's me! Call me as soon as you get this. I have GREAT news!" Heather's sing-song voice called out from Sebastian's voicemail. Sebastian smiled, despite himself. "That girl thinks everything is GREAT news." Sebastian rolled his eyes and thought about the last time he saw Heather. It was on his last trip to America, where Jim had sent him to handle a certain business associate who felt that distance from Jim could equal deception with Jim. After eliminating that target quite handily, Sebastian got approval from Jim to visit Heather for 2 days. That favor had cost him a bit when he got back, but seeing his old friend was worth it. Heather could best be described as unique. The one thing everyone who knew her agreed upon was she was unforgettable. Love her or hate her, you would definitely never forget her.

That afternoon, Sebastian met Heather at her office in the hospital. The secretary escorted him into her private office and offered him a cup of tea. She explained that Dr. Weire had been called into emergency surgery, but she would call the OR to get an update on how long she expected to be. Sebastian smiled his most charming smile and thanked her. After the secretary closed the door, Sebastian started perusing Heather's desk and shelves. He didn't understand half of the titles of the books and journals lining her bookcases, much less the scientific mumbo-jumbo inside. He smiled when he opened the lowest right-hand drawer in her desk. It was filled with toys of all kinds. Yo-yos, a florescent Slinky, Avengers action figures, cans of Play-Doh, stress balls, the drawer was a child's dream. The secretary walked back in and said, "Mr. Moran, Dr. Weire asked me to tell you that she should only be about 20 more minutes. She also instructed me to make a reservation for 6 pm for Glen Livitt's for the two of you. It's an Irish Restaurant and Pub about 15 minutes from her house." Sebastian asked, "Irish Restaurant? Is it any good?"

"Dr. Weire loves that place. I haven't been, but she swears that the Sheppard's Pie is phenomenal. They have a very impressive whiskey menu, as well. She said you would enjoy that." The secretary smiled with that. Sebastian laughed and thanked her. He sat back down at Heather's desk and checked his messages. Jim had texted him to request that he return early from his trip. Sebastian sighed and rolled his eyes. With Jim, a request is never just a request. It is a demand that can not be ignored. He picked up a kidney shaped stress toy and squeezed it several times, preparing himself for the return of Jim's message. This was the first time in 8 months that Sebastian had had any time to himself and, while he appreciated everything that his role in Jim's life afforded him, he couldn't help but feel a little irritated that Jim couldn't survive a couple days without him attached to his hip. Sebastian rolled his neck side to side, cracking it a few times, and picked up his phone. Just then, Heather breezed in the door. "Bashie! You're here! I'm sorry I was stuck in surgery, but you know how it goes." Heather threw her arms around Sebastian and hugged him tight. "Oh my God! How have you been? Give me like 2 minutes and then we can get out of here. I asked Cindy to book us a 6 o'clock reservation at this GREAT Irish restaurant. You are going to love it! The Sheppard's pie is amazing. They have this app called Irish Nachos. I know, I know, they are not authentic, but they are so good. Are you ready to go? Who are you calling? Don't tell me that that boss of yours is bugging you while you are on vacay. Oh my God, does he not understand boundaries!? Seriously!" Sebastian shrugged and said, "I AM his Chief of Staff, Kitten. Jim is rather reliant on me. Let me just call him quick and find out what is going on." Sebastian dialed Jim's number, while Heather glared. She heard Jim pick up with a curt, "About damn time, Moran!" Heather grabbed the phone from Sebastian's hand and put it on speaker. "James, this is Sebastian's friend, Heather. Sebastian is NOT available at this time. You WILL leave him alone for the next two days. You are a grown adult. Whatever is going on in your life, YOU need to deal with ON YOUR OWN! I'm hanging up now and keeping his phone until I drop him off at the airport. Bye, now!" Heather turned off Sebastian's phone and slipped it into her pocket as he just gaped at her. "Heather Janeen Weire, do you have ANY idea what you just did? Oh my God, I have to call him back. He's literally going to kill you!"

"Oh, Bash, everything will be fine. Now, we need to swing by the house so you can drop off your stuff and we can both get ready for a FABULOUS night out. I ordered an Uber because we are getting SO DRUNK tonight! Are you okay? You look like you just saw a whole legion of ghosts. You're not worried about your boss, are you? Honey, he's a grown ass adult. He will be fine! You are not his slave. Besides, worst comes to worst and he fires you, you can come over here and work. The hospital is looking for a Chief of Security and you would be perfect! Wouldn't that be great!? We could work together and see each other all the time instead of having to constantly Facetime to actually see each other." Heather had grabbed her purse and was halfway out the door before Sebastian knew what was going on. He had forgotten what a whirlwind she was. "Kitten, I really need my phone back now," Sebastian said with a tremor in his voice. "I have to call Jim back. Please! It's really important." Heather rolled her eyes and shot him an exasperated look. "Fine, here it is, but you are not cutting your visit short by even a minute. I never get to see you and I know that that man works you to death and then some. It's completely unfair to you. You deserve to have some Bashie-time. The world does not revolve around James Moriarty. It is time that he learns that."

"Thank you. Just give me a couple of minutes. Can we go back into your office while I make this call?"

They turned around and Heather unlocked her office and motioned for Sebastian to enter. "You have to promise to let me handle this, Heather. Jim is …" Sebastian trailed off. "A couple asshat, an adult size baby, a royal douche nozzle," offered Heather. "No, Jim has to be handled in a very particular way. He is used to getting his way and does not react well to not getting his way," explained Sebastian. "All right, I promise, I will sit here on the couch and keep my pretty little mouth closed, while he treats you like crap," Heather sighed while pouting.

Sebastian turned his phone on and saw that he already had 10 text messages and 2 voice mails from Jim. Every swear word in every language Sebastian knew started racing through his head as he scanned the texts. Jim was terribly creative with his threats when he was mad and Sebastian knew that every single one was entirely possible. Sebastian dialed Jim's number and steeled himself for the lambasting of a lifetime.

"MORAN, DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA OF HOW VERY DEAD YOU ARE RIGHT NOW?" roared Jim. "Yes, sir. I'm so sorry, sir. It was completely –" groaned Sebastian. "HOW DARE YOU ALLOW THAT WOMAN TO SPEAK TO ME LIKE THAT? I ORDER YOU TO KILL HER RIGHT NOW. NOW, MORAN, NOW! I WANT TO HEAR HER BODY FALL TO THE FLOOR! BETTER YET, TAKE A VIDEO OF YOU SHOOTING HER. I WANT TO SEE IT AND TREASURE IT FOR SOME TIME TO COME!" boomed Jim.

Sebastian looked up at Heather and she met his gaze. "Jim, Bash isn't going to kill me. He adores me," purred Heather. "Heather, shut up. This is bad enough," hissed Sebastian. "Jim, I know you are absolutely furious, but I can't kill her right now. Too many people know I'm here with her," explained Sebastian. Heather stuck her hand out to Sebastian. "Honey, hand me the phone. Let me talk to him. I promise I will behave." Sebastian looked at her like she was insane.

"That is not a good idea, Heather. You need to let me handle this," begged Sebastian.

"No BASH, let me talk to her. She needs to know just how huge of a mistake she has made today," barked Jim.

Sebastian very carefully handed the phone over to Heather and reminded her to be nice for both of their sakes. "Hello, Mr. Moriarty. This is Heather. I apologize if you are feeling upset about the way I spoke to you earlier. I'm just really pro-," started Heather. "Listen you, I don't care what you have to say, little girl. You are DEAD. Do you understand me? Dead! I will skin you and make you into a pair of shoes! No one speaks to me in that manner. EVER!" snapped Jim.


	2. Chapter 2

"Jim, may I call you Jim, great, Jim, I'm hearing a lot of anger and frustration in your voice right now. I sense that you feel that I disrespected you and it sounds like respect is really important to you. Does that sound about right, Jim? Respect is really important to you, isn't it? Again, I'm truly sorry I made you feel disrespected. That was wrong of me. Jim, I need you to understand that respect is really important to me too. Not just respect for me, but also for my friends. I feel like you are not showing Sebastian respect when you interrupt his very rare vacation time. I feel angry when people don't show my friends respect. I'm afraid that you caught me exhibiting my famous Irish red-head temper and again, it was wrong of me to allow my temper to take over. But, that being said, Sebastian works very hard for you and does an excellent job, doesn't he Jim?" Heather remarked calmly. "From my understanding, Sebastian got your approval to visit me for a few days. Jim, do you have other staff members who can help you out with the situation you are currently facing? Does Sebastian have an assistant or second in command? Maybe that person can fill in for Bash while he is spending some very well-earned vacation time. Jim, does that sound like a viable option?"

Jim was speechless for the first time in his entire life. Who the hell did this chit think she was? Was she trying to psychoanalyze him? Over the phone? "Miss Weire, I don't –" said Jim.

"Actually, sir, it's _Dr_. Weire, but please call me Heather," smiled Heather.

"Dr. Weire, like I was saying, I don't know who you think you are, but you know nothing about me. And your pathetic attempts to psychoanalyze me are insulting. Sebastian is MY employee and as my employee, he is required to do anything and everything I request, no matter what. If I want him back in England this instant, he is to find a way to instantly appear before my eyes."

"Well, Jim, that sounds a lot like slavery and as I'm sure you are aware, slavery has been illegal in the United Kingdom for some time now. And again, please call me Heather. I feel like we can all be friends here, don't you? You said that you don't know who I am, so let me introduce myself a bit. Sebastian and I have been friends since 2008. I am a Trauma Surgeon, with a medical degree, Ph.D. in Medical Bioethics, and Ph.D. in Psychology, with a concentration in Trauma Counseling. I'm 5'5 and 120 lbs. In my spare time, I run marathons. I like Pina Coladas, getting caught in the rain, the feel of the ocean, and the taste of champagne. I'm not trying to psychoanalyze you. It would be incredibly unprofessional of me to do so, as we have never met. What I am trying to do is apologize for my abject rudeness by letting my temper get the better of me and hopefully, keep you from killing Sebastian and/or me. Sebastian and I have plans tonight and I would love to keep them. We are going to a really great Irish Pub. If you are ever over here, I would love to buy you a pint as an apology for my behavior tonight."

"Let me talk to Moran," came Jim's terse response. Heather handed the phone back to Sebastian and stuck out her tongue. "He wants to talk to you again."

"Y-yes, boss," stuttered Sebastian. Heather sat back down on the couch and started a game of Solitaire on her phone. "Yes, sir, she is quite something." Sebastian looked at Heather on the couch. "Yes, sir, I understand. Thank you, sir". Heather looked up and met her friend's gaze. His face was beginning to gain a little bit of color, but was still quite pale. "'l'lI text you the information after I'm done and meet you at the airport in the morning. Until later, sir." Sebastian hung up the phone and sighed out a long breath.

"So, I guess you have to kill me now, huh, Sweetie?" asked Heather. "Well, it was good while it lasted. Just make it quick, Bash. Quick and painless if possible. One last request. Make sure that Downey and Calypso are well taken care of. I don't want either of them going back to the pound. They deserve better than that filthy place."

"I'm not going to kill you. It's worse. Jim extended my vacation to a full 5 days."

"Bash, that's not worse. That's great! Give me a few minutes and I'll see if I can arrange to find coverage for my shifts for the next few days. Oh, this is going to be so much fun. I get to live AND have you for an extra 3 days!"

"Heather, Jim wants to meet you. I have to book plane tickets for him tonight. He wants to arrive tomorrow morning. This is bad. Really bad."

"Oh, this just keeps getting better. I get to meet the famous Jim Moriarty, too. This is going to be so great. Man, am I excited now. But, you are still staying with me, right? Do you need hotel suggestions for Jim? The Crown Royal is nice. The Yorktowne just finished its renovations and I understand it is absolutely lovely. Their penthouse is supposed to be fantastic. I assume he'll want the penthouse. Let me call and see if it's available. The General Manager owes me a favor."

"He wants to stay with you. He insisted on it."

Heather raised her eyebrows. "Umm … I don't offer turn down service or mints on the pillow. I really think he would be happier at a hotel."

"He insisted and frankly, neither one of us is in a position to refuse."

"I am. It's my house and he is nothing to me."

"Kitten, please. This is supremely important. Please just do this for me! He is my boss and I'm kind of on thin ice because of you now."

"Alright, alright! He can stay, but I will not tolerate any prima donna behavior. There is only room for one Alpha in my house and that's me. Now, can we _please_ go already? We still need to swing by the house to at least drop your stuff off and I would love to change into something more fun."

Sebastian sighed and picked up his phone. "Let me just book the plane tickets and then we can go."

"Fine," grumbled Heather as she threw herself back down on the couch. "Do you want to use my travel agent or does the Almighty have his own?"

Sebastian ignored her while he logged onto the airline's website. He found a direct flight from London to Baltimore with 1 more first-class ticket. He booked it immediately under the name of Tim Morrie. The flight left Heathrow at 7:45 pm. He texted Jim the information and slipped his phone into his pocket. "Alright, I'm all set. He'll arrive at 5:30 am. If I can borrow your car, I'll go pick him up and bring him back."

"Make sure you feed him on your way home, cause I don't get up that early for anyone," said Heather as she stood up and started to walk out the door. "Come, we have much drinking to do before Hurricane Jimbo arrives." Heather pulled out her phone and dialed a number. "Simon, it's Heather. I'm calling in a favor. You know how I covered for you when you had that little "problem" with the bottle. Well, I'm calling in that favor now. I need you to cover my shifts on Wednesday and Thursday. Why? None of your business. Called in favors don't need explanations, unless you would also like me to explain a few things to the Chief about you and his son. Yeah, I didn't think so. Thanks, Simon. You're a doll." Heather slipped her phone back into her bag and locked her office door.

The drive home was uneventful. As a sign of penitence, Heather let Bash pick the music. It made her uncomfortable, but she figured she owed it to him. She had put him in an awkward position with Jim. Damn that temper of hers. Everyone who knew Heather knew that she was a control freak when it came to her car. Temperature, music, route, even food and drink consumption were all things she needed to control and to allow someone else to alter them was a huge concession on her part. Truth be told, she was a control freak about everything. It was how she was so successful at such a young age. Control meant power and Heather needed to be in power. She had spent too much of her early years having no control over her own life that she was profoundly hesitant, scared really, to give it up now. Sebastian knew all this and thanked her for the gift.

They arrived at Heather's home at 4:30 pm. Heather asked him to pick out which guest room he wanted. As usual, both rooms were ready for guests. It was a habit Heather had picked up from her mom, to always be ready in case company dropped by. Sebastian picked the room next to the master bedroom, which left Jim with the room at the end of the hall. Bash and Jim would have to share a bathroom, but it was almost as big as the master bathroom so Heather hardly thought it would be a problem.

"Bash, I want to get a shower. Did you want one too? If so, you can go first. I need to feed the cats, sort through the mail, and empty the dishwasher."

"Yeah, that would be great. I'll get in now and let you know when I'm done."

By 5:30, both of them were showered, dressed, and ready for the night. Sebastian was wearing a pair of tight fitting jeans, a blue t-shirt that hugged his upper body in all the right places, and a pair of fierce looking Bruno Magni oxfords. Heather thought to herself, "Wow, I forgot how good Bash looks when he puts in some effort." She had chosen her new black leather skin tight pants, a very intricate red bustier she had recently picked up for Fredrick's of Hollywood, and a black shrug. On her feet were her favorite black patent leather ankle boots. The six-inch heels brought her eye level up to Sebastian's lips. As she walked into the living room, Sebastian's heart skipped a beat. He had also forgotten what a dish his kitten was. He felt an involuntary stirring in his groin and remembered a particularly good time from the past.

Heather's phone dinged. "The Uber is 5 minutes out. Are you ready? I prefer to meet the drivers at the curb, rather than make them come up to the door." Sebastian nodded and Heather grabbed her purse. "Our carriage awaits, my Lord. Let's go paint this town red."

When the car arrived, Sebastian held the door open for his friend and then climbed in beside her. "My name is Steve and I'm your driver tonight," chirped the man in the front. "Well, good evening Steve. I'm Heather and this is Bash and we will be your passengers tonight. We are headed to Glen Livitts. Do you know where that is or do you need the address," greeted Heather. "No, ma'am. I know exactly where that is and I promise you a safe and speedy ride there," said Steve.

During the drive, Heather told Sebastian about the paper she was writing. She was working on a new form of blood replacement therapy for out of hospital trauma situations. It was based off some military research that she had been involved with after she returned from Afghanistan. It was beginning to show some progress after some initial disappointing early results. Heather was very excited about the possibilities that this type of technology could provide, particularly in wilderness situations. Sebastian smiled listening to his friend excitedly talk about her project. Heather's face lit up with the most beautiful light when she talked about things she was passionate about. He didn't understand all of the science, but he did know that his friend was on the cusp of a revolutionary breakthrough.

The car pulled up to the curb in front of the restaurant. Heather thanked Steve for the drive and promised him a five-star review. They exited the vehicle and walked in the front door of the pub. Heather walked up to the hostess stand. Fiona, the hostess greeted her and showed them to their table. Heather and Sebastian sat down and picked up the menus. "Bash, I highly recommend the Sheppard's pie or the Bangers and Mash. I'm getting the pie, myself. It is to die for." Heather paused and wrinkled her nose. "Ooo, sorry, poor choice of words considering earlier. Let's just say, it's quite good."

"Sounds good to me. Your secretary said that they have an impressive whiskey menu. Where is that?"

"You read my thoughts. It's right here." Heather handed him the sizeable spirits menu. "Let's do this right, my dear. Care to make a bet? I bet that I can still drink you under the table, old man," teased Heather.

"I am only 5 years older than you. I'm hardly an old man! And since when can you outdrink me?"

"Do you want the list alphabetically or chronologically? Looks like the dementia is setting in early," mocked Heather.

"Harrumph, you're on, little girl. Let's do this!" Sebastian signaled the waitress that they were ready to order. "Hi, we are each going to get the Sheppard's pie and bring us a bottle of John Powers 12 year and two glasses. I'm going to have to teach the good doctor here a lesson the hard way." The waitress looked at Heather with a questioning gaze.

"Go ahead, Erin. My elderly gentleman friend here thinks that I can't handle my whiskey. I think by the end of the night, it will be HIM being picked up off the floor," smirked Heather. "Whatever you say, Dr. Weire. I'll be back shortly," answered Erin.

The waitress returned a few moments later with the libations. "Give him your worst, Dr. Weire. I'm rooting for you."

"Thanks, Erin. I will not disappoint. Bash, let's get started. May the best woman win," jeered Heather. She poured an equal measure in both glasses and they clinked them together.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Thanks to Kittypawswrites for the review and follow. You know I have to keep my Jim safe, so don't fret about his safety. Reviews drive me on, keep them coming everyone. Standard shout out/credit to ACD, Mofitiss, and the actors who made these characters who they are.

Chapter 3:

Sebastian and Heather finished the bottle of whiskey before the entrée was served. "Shall we go for a second bottle or something else" asked Heather. Sebastian smirked and responded, "Oh, lady's choice, Kitten."

"That's why I'm asking you, Bash. You're looking a little sloppy, my friend," teased Heather. She knew how proud of his drinking tolerance Sebastian was, but also how very easy it was to wind him up. Truth be told, Heather was starting to feel the overly relaxing effects of the rich, brown liquor on her brain, but knew she couldn't go down that easy. Not with all the bragging she had been doing. "You sure you don't want some water to sip on? There's no shame in admitting defeat when you're in the company of superior competitor."

"Ha-ha, may I remind you, Kitten, that I'm Irish. Drinking is our national pastime. Like eating is for you Americans'."

"Bash, you forget that I still have dual citizenship. I never did get around to renouncing my British citizenship when I turned 18. Also, baseball is our national pastime. Americans just eat every time we feel an emotion. It's our version of a British stiff upper lip. Happy? Eat something. Sad? Eat something? 2:22 pm on a day that ends in "y?" Eat something. It's a proud American tradition. In fact, it's that tradition that keeps my fellow doctors in big business. How about we change it up and do some tequila shots?"

At that moment, Erin brought over the Sheppard's pies and set them down in front of the couple. "Two Sheppard's pies. Wow, you guys finished the whiskey already? That was quick! What can I get ya now?"

"Well, Erin, first these look amazing. Thanks so much. Second, can you set us up for a few rounds of tequila shots? Actually, on second thought, bring us the bottle and shot glasses and we'll take it from there." Turning towards her companion, Heather asked, "Bash, the worm is all you, cause you know this sister friend don't eat creepy crawlies, baby!"

Sebastian shot her a contemptuous look and dug into his entrée. He chewed a bite and swallowed. "Blimey, Heather, this is amazing! You were right. I dare say this is better than my mam's."

"Bash, honey, the worm in the bottle of tequila is better than your mom's cooking. Face it, that woman couldn't boil water if her life depended on it. How you managed not to die of starvation and/or malnutrition when you were growing up, I'll never understand. And don't even bother acting mad, because you know it's true."

"Whatever, at least my mam, isn't nutty than a walnut grove," retorted Sebastian.

"Yeah, you got me there. My family certainly does put the "fun" in dysfunctional." Speaking of which, you'll never guess what Satan is doing now." Satan is what Heather called her next older sister, who had to be the most irritatingly impossible person on God's green earth. Jennifer had been a troublemaker her entire life, but as soon as she had kids, she suddenly got a stick up her arse about everything under the sun and seemed to enjoy being the most horrifically sanctimonious individual, past, present, and future. She smacked of disingenuousness and was so fake it was sickening. "She's decided that she NEEDS to be a stay at home mom now. Daye is a senior in high school and Aiden is in 8th grade. They don't need her at home now. Daye called me the other day in tears because her mom grounded her for 3 months because she brought home a "B" in Calculus 2. Three months!? For a "B?" She's already been admitted to Harvard with a full ride. She didn't want or need to take the class. The poor girl isn't very good at math and doesn't need it for graduation and Harvard doesn't care what she takes this year. They're still taking her. My sister is riding her to death. It makes me sick. But of course, because I don't have kids, I can't say word one about how to raise them. Like somehow giving birth bestows upon you some sort of magical, mystical knowledge. I would think I would at least a little qualified to deal with psychological issues, seeing as I have a Bachelors, Masters, and Doctorate in Psych, but nope. I need to have had a human being drop out of my crotch to gain that ancient knowledge. Ugh, I swear!"

Sebastian just smiled and kept eating the amazing pie. Heather may have all sorts of quirks, but she was by far the most normal person in her family. Her family made his look almost that family from that American show about the woodchuck or beaver or whatever the hell it was from the 1950s. What was that thing called? Something about some woodland creature. There was a snot nosed suck up kid named Eddie in it. Sebastian realized that he had zoned out for a second and looked up to see that Heather was chugging straight from the tequila bottle. "Woah, slow down there Kitten. Pace yourself."

"Sorry, you know how much I _love_ talking about my family. They are just the absolute light of my life." Heather rolled her eyes and dove into her Sheppard's pie. "Mmmmm, this is heavenly. I love this place. It is great, right? A little slice of the old Emerald Isle, huh?" Heather smiled and put down her fork. "Speaking of which, I had an interesting phone call the other day. Um, it's probably a really stupid idea and I'm – I'm sure that even if I applied I wouldn't get it and it's silly really and I'm not even sure I totally want to do it and I mean, it would an amazing opportunity for me, not only professionally, but also personally, and it's not like I have anything really keeping me here. It's just it's so …"

"Heather, slow down! Take a breath. You're rambling again." Sebastian reached across the table and loosely grabbed her right wrist and started to stroke her right palm, knowing that that was one of the best ways to bring his friend back from the edge of a burgeoning panic attack. "First, who called? What did they want?"

Heather took a deep breath and said, "Well, it was from an old school friend from Harvard actually, Jack Johnson. He's a recruiter with St. Bartholomew's Hospital in London. He said that there was an opening in their Trauma department for a surgeon and when his boss found out that Jack knew me from school, he told him to give me a call. They are interested in talking to me about maybe working there. I mean it would only be part time, but I must admit it does sound mildly tempting. I do miss living in England. And like I said, it would be a cool opportunity at least personally, if not professionally." She took a sip of the tequila. "It is kind of flattering, at least, to know that I'm attracting international attention. But I don't know. It's a huge change and I just don't know if I'm in a place in my life to make a huge change. My life is kind of in a good place now, which is somewhere it hasn't been for a long time. I … I just don't know quite what to do. What do you think?"

Sebastian looked at his friend and was quiet for a moment. "Do you want the friend answer or the honest answer?"

Heather grinned. "Both."

"Friend answer? Kitten, you do what feels right. You don't owe anyone anything. I will support you 100% no matter what you do. Honest answer? Who the hell are you and what have you done with my fierce, fearless Kitten with Claws? The Heather I know would be packing her bags and flying over there post haste and knocking the socks of those St. Bart's people with her talent, smarts, and charm. She's a tornado in stilettos. She is second to none and knows it. She's an unstoppable force who gets what she wants every time, no matter the cost." Sebastian threw down a shot of tequila. "So, the question I have for you is, are you a kitten with a lower case "k" or the Kitten with an upper case "K."

Maybe it was the booze talking, but Heather knew her friend was not wrong. "You are absolutely right! I will call Jack back in the morning. I'm going to do it. But I'm not settling for a part time job. I want a full-time job on my terms. Nothing less than the best for me. I'm completely worth it and if they can't see it, then too frickin' bad for them. I'm amazing!" Heather poured and knocked back two more shots of tequila. "Thanks Bash! You are the best."


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I own only on the OCs, not the fabulousness created by ACD, Moffit, Gatiss, et al. Rest assured if I did, Moriarty would be alive and living with me 😉. As always, reviews keep my mind monkeys happy and out of trouble (more or less).

Chapter 4

The rest of the night passed by in a blur of alcohol and good food. Erin dropped by the table at 1:50 am and informed the couple that last call was coming up and to check if they needed anything else.

"No, Erin. We'll just take the bill. I think I need to get this big guy on home. He's got a big day tomorrow. Actually, his big day starts in a few hours, so I probably should get him home. Thanks for everything." Heather pulled out her phone and ordered up an Uber for their location. Sebastian was very glassy eyed and had the funniest half grin on his face. "How ya doing, Bash? Feeling pretty good, right now?"

"Heather, you are the prettiest girl I know. We … we … should get married. Will you (hiccup) marry me? I want to have your babies. Our babies would be so pretty … and strong … and I don't care that you …" Sebastian slurred. "You know I would kill for you right? I … WOULD … KILL … FOR … YOU BABY GIRL! You're my boo. Boo boo boo boo boo, boooooooooo!"

"Oh, Bash, you are such a romantic when you are drunk. Let me just pay the bill and we can go home. You need some sleep" laughed Heather. Erin brought the bill over. Heather glanced at it, wrote in a very generous tip, and signed it. "Here you go, Erin. Again, thanks for everything. As usual, you guys are the best. Have a wonderful night." Heather's phone chirped to let her know that the car was ready outside.

"Dr. Weire, do you need help getting your friend outside? He looks a little … um … like he had a little bit of too good of a time tonight."

"No, we'll be okay, but thanks. I'll see you again soon. Ya'll are still having Trivia night on Sunday, right?"

"Always. I take it you'll be there. Should I save your usual seat at the bar?"

"Yeah, please. That would be great. See ya then. Sadly, it'll just be me. My friend will be back in jolly old England by then. C'mon Bash, time to stand up and get home. Jim-Jam will be expecting you in a few hours and it would be just _horrible_ to disappoint Mr. Ego. God, you are heavy! I'm not carrying you. You gotta put so effort into walking. The car is outside."

"Jim-Jam! I like that. Jim-Jam, Jim-Jam, Jimmy the Jam Man! Jim, can you fix it to get me out of my jam! Jim likes Jam! Jammy Jimmy! He's a silly little jammy man in jammy pants! Jimmy Jam Jam!" sang Sebastian.

Heather helped Sebastian down the steps of the restaurant entrance and into the car at the curb. She slurred out her address to the driver and apologized for Sebastian's overly happy barrage of employer related poetry.

Fifteen minutes later, the car arrived at Heather's house. Heather thanked the driver and apologized again for Sebastian's inappropriate joyfulness. She half carried her friend into the house and plopped him onto the couch. "Sit right there. I'll be right back." Heather walked into the kitchen, opened a drawer, and grabbed her supplies. "Do I want to kind and use a 20 or evil and use a 14? Choices, choices, choices." She thought to herself. "Oh, what the hell, I'll be kind and go with the 20. After all, this is my Bashie-cake and his boss sounds like a real asshat, so he'll suffer enough in the next few days." Heather walked back into the living room to find Sebastian snoring softly on the sofa. Heather bent down and gently shook his shoulder. "Bash, honey, wake up. I have a gift for you. It's going to make the morning a lot easier to deal with, but I need you to be awake while I set it up for you."

Sebastian groaned and mumbled something unintelligible.

"Sebastian, honey, open your eyes for me. This will only take a minute, but I need you to be awake enough to hold still while I do this, ok? I promise you will really appreciate this in a few hours."

"Whatever you're going to do, you can do with my eyes closed. I'm awake. Just get it done enough. I just want to get some sleep."

"Okay, you're going to feel a little pinch, but I need you to hold really still okay. Are you going to hold still for me?" Sebastian opened one eye wide enough to shoot Heather a death glare. "Okey-doke! Here it goes." Heather gently extended his left arm and wrapped the tourniquet around his upper arm just above the elbow. She quickly found the perfect spot and opened the iv kit on the floor. "Okay, hold really still for me. You're going to feel a little pinch, but you HAVE to hold perfectly still." Heather cleaned the site and slide the catheter into the vein with ease. She retracted the needle and taped the dressing in place and hooked up the bag of fluid to infuse with gravity. "Okay, all done."

"What did you just do?" What are giving me?" asked Sebastian suddenly fully awake.

"It's called a banana bag. It has saline, and vitamins and minerals. It's what we give drunks in the ER to help sober them up. One great side effect is that any hangover you might have will be very greatly reduced after this. You will still have a minor hangover, but it won't be nearly as bad, I promise. Now let's get you to bed. You need to go pick up Jim in a few hours, remember? Let's first get you into the bathroom. I don't want you peeing the bed and it might be a good idea to at least try to brush your teeth." Heather helped Sebastian off the couch and down the hall to the bathroom. "Are you capable of using the toilet by yourself or do I need to help you with that? I would suggest you sit down to pee, since you can barely stand independently and I don't want to have to clean urine off _every_ surface in here tonight. I'll go get your jammies while you do that." Heather stepped out of the bathroom, but left the door open in case Sebastian needed her in the 30 seconds she would be gone. She walked into his room and grabbed the pants and tank top he had sitting on his pillow. She walked back into the bathroom to find him sitting on the toilet, looking slightly confused. "What are you doing? You look like a dog in physics class. You do know how to pee sitting down right?"

"No, it's not that. I already finished going, but I can't seem to get my balance to stand up quite right. How are you doing so well right now? You drank more than I did."

"Bash, why do you always forget what kind of drunk I am? You've known me for how long and seen me drunk how many times? I'm a super flirty, even downright slutty drunk, but it passes quickly, especially since my stomach surgery. When your stomach only holds 1/3 of a cup of anything at one time, it can't hold onto alcohol very long, so the effects pass quickly. I consider the only real upside to getting shot in the abdomen. I can't get fat or stay drunk for very long. It doesn't really make up for all the downsides, but does come in handy in certain very specific situations. Anyway, now let's get you up off that toilet before you develop hemorrhoids. Do you want to try brushing your teeth or at least rinsing with some mouthwash? I say this with love, but your breath is so rank right now it could easily count as a violation of the Geneva Convention. Let's get you in your pjs first though. Slip your shirt off. Here's the shirt I found on your pillow. I assume that you had planned to wear it to bed along with these pants." Sebastian and Heather exchanged shirts and then she handed him the pair of thin cotton pants. He wriggled off his jeans and cast them aside where Heather had thrown his shirt. He bent over to start to slip his left foot into the leg hole, but stopped. "I'm going to throw up!" Heather silently reached down and handed him the small trash can. She took over sliding his legs into the pants while he resampled the evening's dining from the wrong direction.

When he was done, Sebastian slowly handed the can back to his friend. "Are you ready to get up now or do you want another minute." Sebastian silently gestured up with his hand. "Okay, we're going to do this together. Just work with me." Heather positioned her feet between Sebastian's and wrapped her arms around his upper back. Counting to three and rocking him gently as she had seen in the yearly PT in service the hospital forced everyone to take, she lifted him up and off the toilet. "Reach down and pull up your pants. Sebastian grabbed his pants and brought them up to his waist. "Here's a glass of water. Take a sip and rinse out your mouth. Don't swallow it. Just spit it out in the sink." Sebastian followed her directions. "Ok, now, brush teeth or just Listerine it?"

"Listerine. I'm afraid if I try to brush my teeth, I might trigger my gag reflex. I'll brush them in the morning before I go pick up Jim."

"Fair enough. Here you go." Heather handed him a small cup of mouthwash and lightly rubbed his back. After he swished and spit, she ran some water to rinse out the sink and walked Sebastian into his room. He pulled the sheets back and he crawled in. "Sweet dreams, honey. Do you have an alarm set for the morning or do you need to do that now? I can't imagine His Majesty tolerating tardiness, even for a hangover."

"No, I'll do that now. Thanks for reminding me. Listen, Heather, while Jim is here, please be nice to him. No nicknames. Just Jim or Mr. Moriarty. Not even James or Jimmy."

"Bash, of course I will be nice to him. He will a guest in my home and I _was_ raised with manners. But, remember, "nice" and "manners" are both two-way streets. I will not be disrespected or abused in my own home. I am NOT my mom. As long as he behaves, I will behave. Besides, it's only 3 days. I can tolerate almost anything for 3 days."

"Thank you Kitten."

"Of course, Bash. Anything for Pumpkin Bear." Heather turned off the light and closed the door. Walking back to bedroom, she considered not going to bed and instead staying up and making plans for her new guest. When Bash visited, she never had to make plans. Everything just fell into place, easy peasy, but this Jim character did have her a bit nervous. What about meals? Did he have allergies? Would he have a problem with the cats? Was he as pompous as he seemed on the phone? Would he want to go sightseeing? Was he going to have her killed? Would he make Bash do it? Would Bash actually do it? What did Bash mean earlier when he said that their babies would pretty and strong? Bash didn't love her, right? No, can't be. I mean, yeah, we screwed around some back in Afghanistan, but so did everyone. No, they were definitely just friends. He was like her big brother. Her really hot, muscular, smart, amazing big brother, but definitely a _brother_. He was just drunk. That had to be it? Right? Yeah, totally, totally. Anyway, back to this Jim guy. She had planned on making lasagna for dinner that night and hoped that would be okay. She would ask Bash in the morning if Jim had any food allergies or sensitivities. Hell, forget asking Bash. She would ask Jim. She could talk to him herself. She didn't need anyone to act as a go-between. Heather stripped off her clothes and climbed into bed. Both cats jumped into bed and tag-teamed her with kitty kisses and meows. "Guys, in a few hours, Mommy getting an extra special guest. Uncle Sebastian's boss will be here for a few days and you have to be nice to him. That means no angry hairballs from you Miss Calypso and no biting from you Mr. Downey. Even Mommy has to be nice, even if it kills her. Deal, guys?" In response, both cats turned so that Heather got a prime view of their rear ends. Eventually, Heather's exhaustion overpowered her anxiety and she drifted off to sleep.

Heather was sitting in the most comfortable chair she had ever been in. Tom Hiddleston was sitting at her feet, giving her the most amazing foot massage while Robert Downey Jr was feeding her chocolate covered strawberries and licking the stray bits of chocolate off her lips in between bites. Andrew Scott was purring the most beautiful poetry into her left ear whilst Benedict Cumberbatch was depositing passionate kisses up and down her body. She was in absolute heaven. Suddenly, Heather became aware of a disturbance. "Kitten, Kitten, wake up!" Slowly the boys started to fade away. Heather tried to reach out to make at least one of them stay, but they kept fading into vapor before her eyes. She became aware of someone shaking her shoulder. Heather cracked one eye open and instead of seeing the Sex Quadruplets, Bash stood there in front of her. "Good, you're awake. I need your help," Sebastian whined. "I don't feel sober enough to go pick up Jim. Can you drive me there? I will buy dinner tonight."

"Sebastian Augustus Moran, do you have any idea what you just removed me from? I was having the absolute best dream ever. I was getting 4-teamed by the four hottest men known to humankind. There was chocolate, and a foot rub, and kisses, and poetry and sexy talk and everything. I'm going to kill you!"

"I'm sorry, but Jim's flight gets in in an hour and I'm not nearly sober enough to pick him up. By the way, this banana bag worked great. I have a slight headache, but I took some Paracetamol so that should pass soon. This is an emergency. Please drive me to the airport. Please!"

"Oh my God in heaven above! Fine, let me get ready. Go pour me a Coke and bring it into the bathroom. I need some help waking the hell up. Lots of ice in a cup with a straw and a lid." Heather stalked into the bathroom and turned on the shower. After using the toilet, she brushed her teeth and stepped into the shower. A quick shower later, she toweled off and took a long suck off the soda Sebastian had set on the counter for her. After pulling her hair into a quick French braid, she finished her makeup in 10 minutes and quickly got dressed in a short silk forest green slip dress and her favorite thigh high black boots. "Might as well make a good first impression," thought Heather. The green of the dress set off her fiery red hair beautifully and the boots always made her short legs look impressively long and lean. Sebastian knocked on her door. "Come in."

"Are you ready? I don't want to be late."

"Yeah, let me just grab my phone and purse and we can get going. You're not nervous, are you? Remember, he's just your boss. Not the Lord," chided Heather.

Sebastian thought to himself, "Yeah, trying telling him that."

Heather and Sebastian walked outside and climbed into Heather's car, Heather in the driver's seat and Bash in the passenger seat. Heather sat there for a moment, patiently waiting.

"Um … Kitten, why are we not moving?"

"Because only one of us is properly prepared for the car to begin moving. One of us has forgotten a very important and mandatory safety feature and we are going to wait until both of us are ready."

Sebastian shot her a murderous look and fastened his seat belt. "There! Happy now?"

"Deliriously! Thank you!"

Surprisingly, traffic to the airport was rather light, so they arrived in record time. Heather had the car valet parked and they walked into the arrival terminal for British Airways. Sebastian checked the arrival board and saw that Jim's flight was running 10 minutes early. This meant that they would only have to wait 15 minutes before his arrival. Sebastian informed Heather of this. "Great, we have time for you to buy me breakfast. I want 2 petite vanilla scones from Starbucks. I would hurry though. The lines there can be crazy this time of day. There's one just over there."

Sebastian hurried over to the store, placed their order, and brought it back to Heather just as Jim's flight started to unload. Jim, of course, was the first one off. He looked around, but didn't immediately see Sebastian. His features began to darken. "Where is that moron?" Jim brooded to himself. Sebastian rushed over to Jim and started to greet him. "Boss, good mor- "simpered Sebastian. "Save it Moran. Who is this," indicating behind Sebastian. "Jim, I'm Heather. It's very nice to meet you. Welcome to Baltimore. How was your flight? Pleasant enough I hope," inquired Heather.

"So, this is the famous Dr. Weire," sneered Jim.

"Indeed. And you are the famous Jim Moriarty. Interesting. You're not quite what I had pictured."

"Oh? What did you picture exactly, _Heather_?

"Well, for one, I expected you to be taller and older. You're just a cute little leprechaun, aren't ya? Listen, does your dad know that you borrowed his clothes and left the house? I don't have any sippy cups at my house, but we could stop and pick some up or have you graduated to big boy cups now?"

"Heather, stop right now," hissed Sebastian. "Sir, I'm so sorry. She's still really drunk. She has no idea what she's saying. Please forgive her."

"Bash, I'm a hell of lot more sober than you. You asked me to drive today because you claimed that you were still too drunk. I'm perfectly sober. Jim was being rude and like I told you, I would only be nice if he was being nice to me. Rudeness begets rudeness. Now if he wants to act like he has some manners, I would be glad to do the same. What do you say, Jim? Should we start over with the introductions?"

"Fine. Hello, Heather. I'm Jim Moriarty. It is nice to meet you," Jim forced through clenched teeth.

"Well, hello, Jim. Welcome to America. I'm glad you could join us for a few days. Sebastian speaks very highly of you and I look forward to entertaining you in my home. What do you say we go get your luggage?"

Heather turned and started to walk over to the signs pointing to luggage pickup. She could hear the two men arguing in Gaelic behind her. She stopped after a few steps and turned to Jim, "Labhair me go gairid." She turned back around and kept walking. Once they arrived at baggage claim, Sebastian walked over to the belt while Jim and Heather stayed back.

"Jim, I am truly sorry for last night. I really did let my temper get the best of me. I just got so frustrated because Bash works so much and gives so much to you and his work and in all honesty, I sometimes get jealous that you get to spend so much time with him and sometimes it seems like you don't really appreciate how amazing he really is. You wouldn't believe how much I look forward to the time I get to spend with him. Bash was the first guy I let get close to me after my husband died and he truly is my best friend. Most guys get scared off or intimidated by how successful I am and it gets lonely. But Bash … Bash thinks it's amazing and awesome that I'm successful and tough. He makes me feel good about myself for real. With him, I can be myself. I don't have to be the puffed up tough fierce female persona that I have to show the rest of the world, but the real me. The me that is fierce and powerful, but at the same time is also racked with anxiety at times. And I don't know why you are here, but I'm asking you to please just don't steal him from me while you're here. You get him for so much time. I just want my couple days. Our fighting is really stressing him out, so can we just try to get along for a few days. I want him to be happy. And seriously, please call me Heather. Dr. Weire is so stiff and professional. Bash tells me you prefer Jim, so with your permission I'll just call you that. Ok?"

Jim stared at Heather for a few minutes. She could feel his eyes penetrating her deepest recesses. She looked away and felt like crying. How cold was this man? Did he even have a heart? She started to walk over to Sebastian, when she felt a hand on her upper arm.

"You know Heather, you are wrong. I _do_ appreciate Sebastian and his work. I know I work him too hard, but I need him. He is the only person I trust with my business. The only person I know without a doubt would take a bullet for me and do his damnedest to get a few off in my defense. I don't know why I'm here either. Maybe it's because I was just so shocked that someone would actually have the balls to talk to me the way you did. I was shocked. Maybe I wanted to meet the person that would sign her own death warrant so freely. He talks about you sometimes. Maybe I was curious to see what was so special about you. Why you are so important to him? What is your history with him?"

"It's long and complicated. It would probably bore you to be honest. Plus, I just don't want to get into it right now. No offense, but I just can't right now. I'm going to see if he wants any help with the luggage. How many pieces do you have?"

"Two, but he can manage them himself."

"I'm sure he can, but I need to …"

Jim watched Heather walk away. An hour ago, he was positive that he knew exactly how he felt about Heather, but now he was unsure. Jim never felt unsure. He hated that feeling. Being unsure was for ordinary people. He was most decidedly not ordinary. He was extraordinary. He was Jim "Mr. Sex, Honey you should see me in a crown" Moriarty. He had plans. And those plans had back up plans. And those back up plans had contingency plans. And those contingency plans had plans of their own. He was prepared for everything. Everything, but this it would seem. Jim watched Heather reach up and put her hand on the small of Sebastian's back. She leaned into him and he wrapped his right arm around her waist into a tight side hug and kissed the top of her head. Jim felt a tug of jealousy towards the sight

Jim's luggage came around a moment later and Sebastian and Heather each grabbed a piece. They carried them over to Jim and Heather walked them outside to the valet parking area. After handing her ticket to the attendant, Heather asked Jim if he wanted to stop anywhere for breakfast. Jim replied that he had eaten a meal on the plane, but was willing to stop if either of them were hungry. "No, I made Sebastian get Starbucks for me and it looks like he got a little something for himself, so I think we are okay."

The valet pulled up in Heather's car. She exchanged the keys for a generous tip and climbed in to pop the trunk. Sebastian secured the bags and climbed in the back. Jim sat down in the passenger seat. Sebastian and Heather put their seat belts on. Heather looked over at Jim and smiled. Jim returned the gaze. Sebastian piped up from the back and said, "Boss, you need to put your seat belt on."

"I never wear my seat belt, Sebby. You know that."

"She won't move the car until you do."

"Heather, are we going to stay here all day," asked Jim.

"Nope, just until you put your seat belt on. Then we can go. So, ball's in your court."

Jim just stared and smiled at Heather. Heather stared and smiled back. They sat locked in a silent power struggle for 20 minutes, with Sebastian periodically calling from the back for Heather to move and Jim to just put the damn seat belt on already. Finally, airport security came over and tapped on the window. Heather rolled it down.

"Ma'am, is there a reason you haven't moved your vehicle yet?"

"Oh yes, Officer, there is. My friend here hasn't put his seat belt on yet and I know that it's not only state law, but also a very wise safety decision to wear a seat belt while in a moving vehicle. I'm just waiting patiently for him to comply."

"Sir, please put your seat belt on or I will be forced to write you a ticket."

Jim reached up slowly and grabbed his seatbelt without allowing his eyes to leave Heather's face. He fastened it and folded his hands in his lap.

Heather pulled the car forward and before the car could move more than 10 feet, Jim reached down and undid his seat belt. Heather slammed on the brakes and put the car in park. "Jesus, Jim, she's serious, JUST PUT THE DAMN BELT ON OR WE WILL BE HERE FOREVER," roared Sebastian.

"He's right. It is my strictest rule. I have the next 5 days off work so, I can and will sit here for the next 5 days until it is time for you guys to fly back."

Jim mumbled something under his breath and refastened the belt.

Heather put the car back into drive and they exited the airport area. "So, Jim, Bash tells me you like Bach. If you would like, we can listen to that on the way home or I do have a very nice Irish folk music station on Pandora. It's up to you."

"I don't care," pouted Jim

"Okay, then I pick the Garth Brooks Channel on satellite radio. I love Garth Brooks. I grew up listening to him. I have so many memories surrounding his music," chirped Heather.

"I thought you said it was Bach or Irish Folk music?"

"Yeah, I did, but you said that you didn't care, so that means that I get to pick and I pick Garth Brooks.

"Fine, then I want Bach."

"Oh, too late. I already made the decision for the car. Maybe you'll try harder next time it's your turn and not be a Grumpy Gus."


	5. Chapter 5

Note from your humble author: Thanks again to kittypawswrites for her (I'm assuming, please correct me if I'm wrong) continued support. To answer your question, Jim is Andrew Scott in this, but "sex dream AS" is more "Jim from IT" than "Dressed up, slicked back hair Jim." Heather notices the resemblance though. Other people are also welcome to review/comment. I love hearing other peoples' thoughts and suggestions on this. All credit to the appropriate authors/creators/artists/people infinitely better than me.

Chapter 5

Jim remained pouting throughout the ride to Heather's. She was not making the situation any better by not only playing this hillbilly hell music, but also loudly and enthusiastically singing along with it. He had to admit she did have a beautiful singing voice, but this hardly made up for the assault on his auditory system cranking out of the speakers. To try to escape the current attack on good aural taste, he escaped into the inner recesses of his mind and began to assess the situation he faced. He wondered to himself why he was there. Last night, it had seemed to make perfect sense to hop a flight and eliminate the "Heather problem" and collect Moran, but now he was less sure. "Is she really a problem? Sebastian does a fantastic job and never complains about my demands on him or his time. Is it really so bad to let him have one friend that he quite infrequently sees? She obviously cares about him. And him her, but he has been very quick to come to my defense each time, she's spoken out to me. He obviously knows where his priorities lie. And there was a certain something about her I can't quite put my finger on. She was extraordinary in many ways. Not only did she have no problem standing up to me, but according to the research from the prior night, she was brilliant and multi-talented. IQ of 167, high school valedictorian at 12, full ride to Harvard for an unprecedented triple major completed in 4 years, valedictorian to boot. Top graduate from Harvard Medical School, earning her MD, MPH, and a Masters in Psychology. Fellowship in Trauma Surgery and board certified in Surgery, Trauma Surgery, and Emergency Medicine. MBA, Ph.D., since that. _Volunteered_ to travel to Afghanistan to work with Sebastian's unit for two tours of duty. Who the fuck volunteers to go to an active war zone to work for another country's military? Dual British and American citizenship. Married and widowed in 2001."

Jim shook his head at the last one. He was not known to be the most warm-hearted guy, but this girl suffered there. Married on September 9th and widowed on September 11th, that's some crazy shit. Jim knew from his research that Heather was in the middle of her trauma surgery fellowship that day and, according to his sources, when she was informed by Brian's Chief that he had died, she collapsed in the on-call room. Her boss had offered to send her home, but Heather just asked for one hour by herself in the on-call room and then found him and insisted on staying to "do what needed to be done." When he read that detail, Jim thought she was a cold-hearted bitch, but now he wasn't so sure. After meeting her now, she seemed warm and caring, not the kind of person who could just shrug off her husband's death that quick. He would have to get more details on that later. If she was that cold, he may have a place for her in the firm. Jim's lips lifted ever so slightly with that thought. "That mouth will have to be tamed, but I can make that my special project." Thinking about Heather's mouth took Jim's mind to another kind of business he could "conduct" with her. He slid his eyes to his left and silently appraised the raven-haired creature beside him. Her pale, flawless complexion belied her stated age of 38. He easily would have put her at least a decade younger if not more. Her forest green dress clung to her in all the right places and showed that she took her health and fitness very seriously. The dress had ridden up to mid-thigh and made Jim wish it would somehow continue the journey, as he wished to discover the treasure that it hid. Her toned legs were encased in supple black leather thigh high boots with the most fashionable of kitten heels. She obviously knew what worked on her body and appreciated fashion without being obvious.

Jim looked back at the road and realized that they were in a residential area. The streets were quiet and tree-lined. The properties were spaced out nicely and he saw signs for horseback riding and farmers' markets. After a few minutes, Heather slowed and turned into a driveway with a security gate. Heather pulled up to the control box and rolled down her window. She typed in her code and placed her left hand on the palm reader. It beeped and the gate slowly opened. Heather pulled forward and the gate closed narrowly missing the rear of the vehicle.

"Interesting security system you have. Do you have a big problem with break-ins around here," asked Jim.

"No, not really. People around are very pro-gun and home defense. No one's really dumb enough to try anything in large part to that. My dad insisted on me upgrading the security system that was here when I bought the place. He paid for it, so I just went along to make him happy. I did, however, stand my ground on the not hiring security guards. I don't need people prowling around me 24/7. I like my privacy to an extent and am quite handy with all nature of firearms. My parents are rather anti-gun, but I'm not. Took a class with Bri- … a friend several years ago and found that I was freakishly good with firearms, despite never even seeing one in person, much handling one. Kind of started a passion for me. Not just for personal safety, but more so for marksmanship and competition. Actually, that's one thing I was going to suggest while you were her, Bash. Going to the range and having a little friendly competition. You up for it? Jim, what about you?"

"I guess. I usually don't get my hands dirty, but if you two want to do it, I suppose I could manage to tolerate it for a little while."

"Cool! Maybe later today, unless you guys have something else in mind. Alright, if you guys get the luggage, I'll go open the door and then I'll show Jim where he's staying. Jim, I hope you don't mind, but you will have to share a bathroom with Bash."

After Jim and Sebastian got inside and Jim got his stuff situated, Heather gave him the house tour. Jim had to admit he was impressed. Although there were definite feminine touches, the home wasn't overly girly. Heather asked Jim about any allergies or special requests from the grocery store and made a list. "Ok guys, I'm going to run out to pick this stuff up. Bash, I would suggest you get some sleep. How's your headache? Do you want me to see the Tylenol out on the table for you? Make sure you drink some extra water. I have tap and flavored in the fridge. Jim, did you want to come with me or stay here with Bash and settle in?"

"I'll stay here."

"K. I'll be back in a bit. Call me if you need anything."

Jim watched Heather pull out of the driveway and onto the road. "So, Sebastian, we need to talk now!"

"Um … ok. What's up?" Sebastian had a sneaking suspicion he knew full well what was "up," but he was going to make Jim broach the subject.

"Full report on her. I want everything you know about her."

Sebastian sighed loudly. "Heather Janeen Weire. 38 years old. Female. Assistant Chief of Trauma Surgery at John Hopkins. Youngest one in Hopkins history. Harvard University Undergraduate, Masters, and Medical School graduate. 95, 97, 99, respectively. Bachelors in –"

"Stop, I know all of this already. I ran the standard firm background on her last night. Tell me about HER. Did she really keep working after finding out about her husband's death? Why did she volunteer to go to Afghanistan? What makes her tick? What are her weaknesses? Why are you two friends? Have you slept with her? Tell me what the background can't."

"Yes, she _did_ go right back to work after Brian died. I asked her once and she said that she knew that there was nothing she could do to make him less dead. He was gone. She said that she had prepared herself for that possibility since they had started dating. He was a firefighter and Paramedic in New York City and she knew that that involved a certain degree of danger, but she knew he loved it and she couldn't ask him to give up his lifelong dream. She told me that her boss had wanted her to go home, but she said that that was the last place she wanted to be because everywhere she looked was Brian and she knew that she wouldn't be able to survive the night if she was alone with all of his stuff. She admitted to me that she would have gone home and killed herself right then and there if she was forced to go home. She said that at that moment, she needed to find some sort of structure out of all that chaos. Seeing patients and operating was the structure she needed. It kept her from falling apart. She said it gave her focus, something about algorithms and clear-cut decision trees based on clinical findings. I didn't fully understand because she was crying, but I figured that it was 8 years later and she had survived that long that it had to be at least somewhat okay. She doesn't like to talk about it. You know I don't fully get chick feelings, but she said that she felt safe talking to me about it, so I just tried to listen and hold her and just … I don't know be a human being for once. She was recruited by an outside contractor to work in Afghanistan as a trauma and field surgeon. I have no idea how much money she got paid, but she once told it was beyond obscene. Knowing how private contractors pay grunts, I believe it. I wouldn't be surprised if it more than bought this house, property, and several other things. I truly doubt that she actually has to work more than part time, but she enjoys it, especially the teaching aspect. I've never officially taken one of her classes, but I've seen videos and all of her TED talks and she's a great teacher. I can't explain "what makes her tick." She's the most unique person I've ever met. Honestly, even more than you. She's a tornado and at the same time a calming presence. She lights up a room, while making every single person in that room feel like the most important person there. She's … I don't know … She's her. I stopped trying to break her down into little pieces a long time ago. We're friends because of what I've already said. She's awesome, and silly, and crazy, and smart, and warm, and caring, and keeps me on my toes.

"Do you love her?"

"Yeah, I do. I love her like a little sister. Hell, I love her more than Fiona. She's not a pain in the ass stuck up princess. She's got girl balls. She has no problem putting me in my place as soon as I step a toe outside the line, but in a way that makes me love her even more. Am I _in_ love with her? No, I'm not. Yes, we've had sex, but it was a long time ago and we were both in different places in our lives. And don't you dare ask how she is in the sack! All due respect, sir, but you can go fuck yourself if you think I'm answering that question!

"Is she in love with you?"

"No. Once upon a time, I hoped it could become that, but it didn't and it won't. She sees me as a brother and only that."

"Alright."

"Jim, what are you going to do? Be honest. Are you going to have her killed or harmed?"

"I don't know. Why? Why is she so worthy of saving? You know I've had people killed for less than what happened last night. Plead her case, Bash! What makes your darling Heather so saveable? Why shouldn't I kill both of you right now?"

Sebastian sighed wearily. "Jim, I really hope that you don't kill either one of us, but ultimately, it's up to you. You have clearly made up your mind on the course of action. I'm going upstairs to lay down. Do what you want to do. You always do anyway." Sebastian turned around and walked up to his room, collapsing into the bed.


	6. Chapter 6

Author's note: I own the socks on my feet. Everything is on loan from others more famous than me.

Chapter 6

An hour later, Heather walked in the front door and set the bags down on the kitchen counter. Downey and Calypso followed her into the room, singing the song of the deprived kitty. She reached down to give each a loving pet and got the cat food and bowls out from the cabinet. "Yes, yes, I know. You both are starving to death aren't you. It's been at least 4 hours since you've had a morsel of food and you are about to wither away to nothing. No one ever pays the slightest bit of attention to you either. Do they? Spoiled little brats!" She placed the two bowls of cat food on the floor and the cats swarmed to them. She turned the kitchen wi-fi speaker on and synced up her music from her phone. Quietly singing along, she put the groceries away and made a mental note to remember to start the dishwasher. By this time, Downey had jumped up on the counter to beg for more food. "Downs, get off the counter. You're not getting any more now. The vet said you were too heavy already. Look at you, belly dragging on the ground. You look pregnant, little boy." The cat meowed pitifully and rubbed against Heather's arm to continue his begging. She picked him up, hugged him, and placed him on the ground. "No, baby. No more until dinner. You greedy little monkey."

Heather walked up the stairs and down the hall. She listened at Sebastian's door for a moment and then, opened it quietly to peek in. "Bash?" Heather whispered. Sebastian was laying still in bed, snoring lightly. Heather smiled and walked in. He had kicked the covers off and was only wearing a pair of boxers. He looked almost angelic, but at the same time, devilishly hot with that hard, sculpted body. His scars barely registered in her eyes. Heather pulled the covers back over the sniper's body and walked out of the room, silently closing the door behind her. She walked to Jim's room and knocked softly. Hearing no response, she cracked the door open just a little. Jim was also asleep. She could see his suit draped across the arm chair and his boxer brief on the floor. "Is he naked?" Heather wondered to herself. Heather also liked to sleep _au naturale_ , but so few people shared that preference. Heather found herself slightly turned on by the idea of the Irish man's nudity and her being separated from it by only a thin bed sheet and about 15 feet. She allowed her mind to wander to several adult-themed scenarios for a few minutes. "No! Pull it together, Weire! He is a guest in your home. You WILL act appropriately. Granted, it has been a while since you've had a partner in the horizontal hippity-hop and a woman DOES have certain needs, but NO, he's a rude asshole who overworks your best friend. Hands off! Though … speaking of assholes and working, I bet he would be great at … HEATHER FOCUS! NO! BAD!" Heather blushed and shut the door, silently chiding herself for her less than Christian thoughts.

Heather walked downstairs and into the living room. She plopped down on the couch and pulled up her latest audiobook on the living room Alexa device. Soon the rich, dulcet tones of Benedict Cumberbatch reading Ian Kelly's Casanova filled the air. "That man could read a calculus textbook and make it sound like sex on a stick," mused the fully smitten doctor to herself. She remembered the piece on the Jimmy Kimmel show where he read some R. Kelly's lyrics and made it sound like Shakespeare. "What that man can't do, I just don't know. That Sophie is a lucky, lucky lady!"

Heather covered herself with her favorite quilt. It was the one that her grandmother had made for her when she was a baby. Heather's heart stirred a bit with the thought of the deceased lady. She and her grandmother had been close, and Heather missed her very much. Alzheimer's had stolen her once sharp mind and by the end had left her a shell of the woman she once was. Grandma had always been there for Heather when no one else, not even her parents, had been. Heather knew that her grandmother's love was truly unconditional, unlike the way she had to constantly earn her parents' approval by performing well like some kind of show pony. Plus, she did have to admit that the passive-aggressive relationship grandma and Heather's mom had was amusing. "Man, they hated each other, but both of those bitches were too damn polite to call one another out. They always were undercutting each other for Daddy's approval and affection." The psych training in Heather screamed that it was a very unhealthy and counter-productive kind of relationship, but the dysfunctional child drama queen in her loved how entertaining it was to watch sometimes. "I am so screwed up," laughed Heather.

An hour and a half later, Sebastian felt someone jostling his shoulder. "Seb-by, Seb-by, GET UP! I'm bored," whined Jim. Sebastian opened his eyes and yawned widely. "Ok, what would you like to do, Jim? Have you talked to Heather?" Sebastian climbed out of bed and looked over at his boss. Jim was wearing a pair of ironed black jeans and a crisp white button down with the top two buttons undone and the sleeves rolled up to just above the elbows. His hair, as always, was perfectly gelled back, nary a hair out of place. His feet were bare, and his breath was fresh as a winter's morn. Sebastian, meanwhile, looked like he had slept the sleep of the dead. His short, blonde hair stuck up at angles that defied physics and he had pillow wrinkles across his face in the most interesting designs. Sebastian's breath smelled of an interesting combination of kitty litter and hot death. "Oh my god, Sebra, what the fuck is going in your mouth? Your breath is horrific! Go brush your damn teeth. When we get back, you are going to see Dr. O'Reily post haste. When was the last time you performed any form of dental hygiene? Were you in here eating cat shite and haggis," wailed Jim. Sebastian glared at his boss. "Yeah, Jim. You caught me. While I was sleeping, I was chowing down on a nice cat shit and haggis casserole. I have some left over here if you would like a taste. It's a new recipe I'm working on. For my new cookbook, Recipes to Impress my Asshole Boss. My editor wants it in stores in time for Christmas, so I really have finish it soon to get it to press in time."

"Cute, Moran. Get dressed and we'll go downstairs together. I'll call the dentist's office while you get ready."

"Jim, I just went to the dentist 3 months ago. I'm not due yet."

"Sebby, I smelled your breath. YOU'RE DUE NOW! I'm calling. Off you pop to get dressed and defunk that gaping trash hole you call a mouth." Jim pulled his phone and dialed and pushed a few buttons. "Olivia! Jim Moriarty, Hi! How are you? I need to schedule an emergency appointment for one of my employees." Sebastian threw his jeans and t-shirt on and trudged out to the bathroom. Sebastian hated going to the dentist. All of that needless poking and prodding. At least the hygienists were good-looking. That did make a little more pleasant. His breath wasn't that bad, right? Sebastian brushed and flossed his teeth. He finished with a quick swish of mouthwash. "There! Let's see Jim complain about that!"

Sebastian walked back in his bedroom to find Jim sitting on his bed. "You are seeing Dr. O'Reily on Monday at 8 am." Sebastian rolled his eyes. "Jim, I'm not going. I don't need to for 3 more months and we have a lot of stuff to do when we get back." Jim jumped off the bed and into the taller man's face in one great leap. "You ARE going to see Dr. O'Reily on Monday at 8 am and you will fully cooperate in all ways with anything and everything he tells you. Do I make myself clear, See-bass-chun," growled Jim. "I am ordering you to do this. This is a direct order." Sebastian nodded. Jim smiled and said, "After all, I need my number one employee to be at his best physically if he's going to be of any use to me. C'mon, let's go downstairs and see what Heather's up to."

The men walked downstairs and into the living room. Sebastian looked down at the couch. Heather was curled up in a loose fetal position with Downey balanced on her right hip. Calypso was snuggled in sleeping at her feet. A thin line of drool was running out of Heather's mouth, while light snoring was coming from her nose. Sebastian always thought Heather looked her youngest and most innocent when she was sleeping. Sebastian motioned to Jim to keep his voice down. The two men walked into the kitchen and grabbed drinks out of the refrigerator. Sitting down at the breakfast nook, Sebastian looked at Jim. "Do you want the debrief on Hansey?" Jim nodded. "Everything went to plan. One in the right temple. Set up to look like a suicide. Had him write the note before I plugged him. Blamed his recent financial losses for everything. Usual boilerplate 'The world would be better off without me, I'm a failure, blah, blah, blah.' Supervised the clean-up crew myself then left. Headed here." Jim nodded again. "Well done as usual, Sebastian."

"Thank you, sir. Just doing my job." Sebastian took a long drink of his water and was prepared himself for the next question. "On a completely different topic, is there anything you had wanted to do while you were here? I'm sure that Heather is wondering the same thing. You had said that you were bored earlier. I could go wake her up and we could talk about some options."

"Yes, about Heather …"

"Jim, let me just stop you for a second. I know you absolutely hate to be interrupted, but please understand, she's a great person. She's just very passionate and protective, especially of me. She knows how my history. The way my family is. Her family isn't quite as bad as mine, but it's damn close. I think that she sees herself as my protector in some ways. I definitely see myself as hers. Whether she wants it or not, I am. She has a huge heart and always champions for the underdog. Please just give her a chance."

Jim pursed his lips and regarded his friend for a moment. "Are you done?" Sebastian nodded nervously. "Like I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, about Heather … I thought about it. I was perhaps slightly potentially mistaken. Mind you, she is cheeky and impertinent. But, she is also not ordinary. I would like to get to know her more. I want to take her out to dinner tonight, just the two of us. Find the best restaurant around and get me reservations. What kind of food does she like? Please tell me she is not one of those weird vegan, gluten free, a million and one food allergies, special snowflakes these Americans are turning into."

Sebastian laughed. "No, Heather is definitely not a vegan. She once told me she tried to become a vegetarian when she was younger, and she lasted about 2 days before the meat cravings got so bad that she considered turning to cannibalism just to get red meat. She is allergic to pineapple and coconut, but that's it. She's open to most any kind of food. I know of a few places around here you two might like, but are you sure you want to go out alone with her tonight. I know she was planning on making lasagna own vegetables and makes her own sauce and cheese."

"She can make it tomorrow. You know I can be very charming, especially with the ladies. Now go make those reservations. I'll go wake her up."

"No, no, boss. You don't want to wake her up. I'll do it. You have to wake her up in a very specific way or there are pretty serious consequences. Trust me. I learned the hard way."

"What the hell do you mean 'wake her up in a specific way or else there are serious consequences?' How hard is it to wake someone up?"

"Watch and learn."

The two men walked into the living room. Sebastian kneeled down about two feet from Heather, parallel to her shoulders. "Kitten," he called softly. "Kitten, wake up." He reached his hand out and gently laid it on her shoulder. "Kitten, wake up sweetie. It's Bash. It's time to get up, honey" Bash said a little louder. He waited about 5 more seconds and started to very gently shake her shoulder and call her name. Her eyelids fluttered. Sebastian took his hand off her shoulder and started to stroke her cheek, while making keeping an eye on her arms. "Kitten, it's time to get up. Can you get up? I need your help." At this point, Sebastian's voice was just below normal speaking volume. Heather's eyes opened, and she smiled when she saw her friend. "Bashie" she called out sleepily. "There's my girl! I'm sorry to wake you up, but Jim and I need your help," Sebastian said to his tired friend. Heather sat up and stretched her arms. "Bash, I'm sorry honey. I didn't mean to fall asleep. I was listening to a book on Audible and must have just slipped off. What did you need?"

"Jim and I were talking, and we wanted to see if there was anything to do around here. I was thinking we could go to Inner Harbor. I think Jim might like the Science Museum or the Aquarium. We could get lunch while we are there. Maybe make a day of it. What do you think?"

"Yeah, that sounds awesome. They just opened a new special exhibit at the Science Museum about criminal justice science and I've been meaning to check it out. The Aquarium is awesome too. What do you think Jim? Which would you rather go see?"

 **Ok, readers. It's up to you. Science Museum or Aquarium? Let me know in the reviews, which means you have to leave one. Right now, it's Tuesday morning, so I'll give you until Thursday morning to let me know. Also, where should Jim and Heather go to eat? I'm looking forward to hearing from you all**.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's note: So, no new reviews make Catmandew a sad panda. I'm thinking about stopping this story since no one seems to care for it. I enjoy writing it, but methinks that I'm the only one who is getting any enjoyment from it. I don't want to lay a guilt trip down, but I'm kinda bummed right now. As always, many thanks to ACD, Mofitiss, BBC, Andrew Scott's ancestors for choosing each other and "hitting that" so that he could exist today, and Rick Bartel (my 10** **th** **grade History teacher) for being the best teacher I have ever had.**

Chapter 7

"Wait. Sebastian, what the blue bloody hell did I just see?" asked Jim with a puzzled look on his face.

"What do you mean? If you have something else in mind, Jim, we can do that. Those were just the first two things that popped into my head."

"No. We'll get to that in a minute. Why the hell did you wake her up like that. Like you were coaxing a rabid bear out of hiding? Is that how you wake everyone, except me up? What the literal fuck?"

"Oh, Jim, I can answer that for you." Responded Heather with an embarrassed smile. "Um, I … uh … I tend to react less than positively to being awakened suddenly. Done it my whole life. Even as a baby. I um … well, I … tend to kick and punch people if they are too close and/or too sudden with waking me. Sebastian learned this the hard way one time. I kind of … um … sort of … kicked him really super hard in the crotch one morning. Again, Bash, still super-duper sorry about that, still. So sorry!"

"Yeah, she drove her heel right into my bits and pieces with all her might. There was a lot of swelling – "

"Yeah, he actually threw up. I wanted to take him to the hospital, but he absolutely refused. Frankly, honey, I'm still impressed that everything still worked after that. My heel hurt for like 2 days after that. I thought you had to have at least some testicular torsion just based on the swelling alone. But you did learn an important lesson didn't you. We snapchatted my sister that morning and she taught him how to wake me up properly and he hasn't gotten hurt since, have you? You just have to follow the rules, right?"

"Yeah, the rules. That's why I wouldn't let you wake her up. I didn't want you to get hurt like I was or worse. Basically, when you want to wake her up, you have to approach her like a bomb." Heather shot her friend the middle finger and a withering look. Sebastian raised an eyebrow in her direction and continued, "Like I was saying a bomb. Make sure you stand clear of her arms and legs and speak softly and kindly. Slowly raise your voice as you go and give her plenty of time to reorient. If you rush her, she gets violent."

"I don't get violent. I'm always kind and loving and patient, dumbass."

"Anyway … Jim, do you want to go to the Aquarium or the Science Museum?"

"Give me a minute and I can pull up the list of stuff at the Inner Harbor. There's a lot there other than just those two things." Heather handed Jim her cell phone. "Here is a website that lists pretty much everything that is considered to be a part of the Inner Harbor. As you can see, there's a pretty good variety, including some great restaurants. I had planned on making dinner here like I said earlier, but if we are out at dinner time, that can get pushed back until tomorrow."

Jim scrolled through the list and picked out a few places of interest. He "accidentally" closed the browser and scrolled through the file marked "photos." Heather had an interesting variety of pictures. One in particular drew his attention. It was of a young teenage Heather in a short black formal gown with her arm wrapped around the shoulders of an older man who did not look especially happy to be there. "Dad? Grandfather? Date? Date, ooo, Heather you naughty minx!" Jim wondered to himself. He sent the photo to himself and then deleted evidence of the forward. "This just may come in handy later." He handed the phone back to her and said, "Let's start with lunch and then maybe the Aquarium. How soon can everyone be ready?"

"Give me about 20 minutes," said Heather.

"Well, I need a shower, so 20 minutes is good for me too," announced Sebastian.

Fifteen minutes later, Heather walked down the stairs, wearing a black baseball cap, a fitted gray t-shirt with the words "Not today, Satan" emblazoned on the front, and slim fit blue jeans that clung to her every curve. She reached down and grabbed her favorite sneakers. She sat down on the couch next to Jim and put her socks and shoes on. Jim read her shirt and smiled, "What are we denying Satan today, my dear?"

Heather looked at him coyly and replied, "Depends on the offer he makes. Why? Have you two talked recently?"

"I'd never turn down a client without hearing him out first. It's just bad business and rude, after all."

"Interesting." Heather turned towards Jim. "So, what's on the Big Guy's agenda today? More of the usual soul snatching, possessions, general tempting and trickery, or does he have something _special_ in mind. Maybe leading a good girl astray. Perhaps by using his silver tongue and sinister good looks?"

"Oh, Kitten, everyone knows you can't lead a girl astray unless she really wants to be led that way. She has to have the _desire_ already." Jim raked his eyes over the doctor's body. "Do you know of any good girls who want to go bad?" Jim leaned in almost touching Heather's face.

"I could probably think of one or two." Heather placed her hand on Jim's upper thigh. "But it would have to be for the right kind of devil. He would have to be pretty exor- "

"Jim, is Heather down here? She didn't answer when I knocked on her bedroom door," called Sebastian as he descended the stairs. "She tends to take forever to –. Oh, you're down here already. Great! Are you guys ready to go? Kitten, are you okay? You look really flushed. Do you want me to grab a bottle of water for you?"

Heather had already pulled back as soon as she heard Sebastian's voice. She took a deep breath and silently cursed his existence at the moment. "Nope, honey. I'm all good. I'm just a little warm, but I'll be fine. I'm ready if you guys are." She glanced over at Jim who looked annoyingly calm, cool, and collected. "How the fuck does he do it? Did I just completely misread the situation? We were totally going to at least kiss right then, right? Maybe get hand over clothes action. God, I have GOT to get laid. It's been so long I can't even read sex cues anymore. Ugh!," she thought to herself.

Jim stood up and offered his hand to her. "Need a _hand_ getting up, Heather," he smirked. "Yes, Jim that would lovely. I thought for a minute that you might have needed some help getting _up_ , but you seem to have done just fine," returned Heather.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's note: Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I decided to continue the story, partially because of your encouragement and partially because I am having a blast writing it. This chapter gets a little spicy. Nothing crazy-cakes, but not suitable for the young-uns. As always, thanks to ACD, Mofitiss, et al, and BBC. A special thanks to my husband for reading this and making suggestions. Honey, I know you hate fanfiction, so the fact that you are reading mine means so much to me. Sorry Andrew Scott, but you're gay and my fantasy and my husband is straight and my reality, so he wins this round. Now, if situations were to change, …**

Chapter 8

"Sebastian, do you mind driving? I don't really feel it right now. Do you remember how to get to the Harbor," asked Heather as she tossed him the keys.

"Yeah, that's fine. Are you sure you're okay? Jim and I can go out alone if you don't feel good," wondered Sebastian. "Is it your stomach? Is it acting up again?" Sebastian knew Heather's health wasn't always the best and couldn't help worrying about her, as she tended to minimize her symptoms.

"No, I said I was good, honey, and I am. I'm just not in the mood to deal with traffic right now," responded Heather. "I'm in the mood to fuck Jim's brains out right now, but _that_ won't be happening now, thanks Buddy!" she thought. She smiled what she hoped was a very convincing smile towards her friend.

Sebastian walked ahead of her and Jim out the door. Jim reached up and grazed Heather's behind on his way past her. She flashed him a surprised look with raised eyebrows. He returned her gaze with a toothy grin and quick lick of his lips. Heather grinned despite herself and cocked her head towards him, rolling her eyes. Her heart sped up a bit thinking about their almost kiss just moments before. She shut the door behind her and walked with Jim to the car. "Jim, did you want to sit in the front or back? I'm open to either option myself," she asked.

"Actually, I was thinking we could both sit in the back if you didn't mind. You don't mind, do you Sebastian. I feel like getting to know our lovely hostess a bit better and it is so inconvenient to have to yell back and forth between the front and back." Jim's request sounded more like an order than an innocent suggestion. Not that Heather minded in the least. Sebastian, knowing a command when he heard one, just nodded and said, "Sure thing, Boss." Heather ducked her head and smiled a most secret smile. "Ladies first," Jim opened the car door and offered his hand to her. Heather climbed in and Jim behind her. Heather reached up to fasten her seatbelt, but Jim reached across her and grabbed it before she could get it. "Allow me, Madame." Heather silently bowed her head and smiled at him. She couldn't help but notice when he "accidentally" grazed her bosom with his fingertips as he slid the belt across her or that his hand lingered a second too long at her hip as he fastened the connection. Again, Heather's eyebrows shot up in amused and, frankly, aroused surprise. She locked eyes with him and slowly traced her lips with her tongue. Jim leaned in close and whispered, "What else can you do with that tongue, Miss Weire?"

"Well, I do especially like licking and sucking big …," purred Heather. "ice cream cones," she continued after a pause. "I find that licking ice cream cones is a great way to use my mouth. Wouldn't you agree, Mr. Moriarty? It really helps to … relieve pent up heat."

"Oh, Miss Weire, I can think of better ways to relieve yourself of heat than just ice cream."

"Oh, pray tell, Mr. Moriarty. I, personally, have always found that licking a little cream from a cone is my favorite way to release some tension. But, I am always open to learn techniques. Perhaps later, you can help me with some new ideas. I would love your ... input."

Sebastian cleared his thought loudly, "Heather, I can't get my GPS to work. Can I borrow your phone?"

"Yeah, sure. Here. Anything else?" snapped Heather. "Bash, I love you, but you have got to stop cock blocking me here," she thought to herself and she worked to keep from snapping at her best friend. "It's not his fault, it's not his fault, don't freak on him. It's totally cool. Breathe," she reminded herself.

Turning her attention back to Jim, Heather reached across him and fastened his seat belt. "There ya go. Nice and safe and secure. I do love keeping people safe, you know," she intoned. "Although … sometimes, a walk on the wild side can be fun. If you know what I mean. Do you know what I mean, Jim?"

"Why walk when you can run?" Jim leaned in close to Heather. She could smell the mature oakiness of his cologne and see the dark gleam in his eyes. She bit her bottom lip and a small sigh slipped through her juicy red lips. Her stomach was flipping over and over, like an Olympic gymnast and she could feel the growing wetness permeating her underwear. She leaned in closer to the Irishman and prayed that they wouldn't be interrupted again. Jim released his seatbelt and grabbed Heather's face, attacking her lips with a fiery, passionate open-mouthed kiss that tasted of mint and sheer animal desire. Heather felt his tongue inside her mouth and knew she belonged to him in that moment. The entire world disappeared around them and she welcomed the fact.

Jim pulled away far too quickly for Heather's taste and silently put his seat belt back on. "Safety first, right my dear," he teased with a smoldering look.

"Fuck safety," Heather responded as she popped her seat belt off and dashed across the back seat to straddle Jim's lap.

"Such language, Dr. Weire! I'm shocked," tutted Jim.

Heather ran her hands through Jim's carefully styled hair. "I'll give you language, asshole! That kiss was too much. Do you really want to go to the Inner Harbor or can I suggest another activity?"

Sebastian slammed on the brakes. "You guys know I can see and hear everything you doing right now, right? I'm 2 feet away from you! Heather get back in your seat and put your damn seat belt on. I ain't driving the 'sex bus' over here. Have some respect for God's sake. Boss, Heather's like my damn little sister over here. Could you please, for my sake, stop trying to impregnate her while I'm driving? Damn, dude! Seriously! You guys have known each other for like 5 minutes and you're back there humping like bunnies. God, Jim! Like a couple hours ago, I had to beg you not to kill her and now you're trying get all up inside her. Seriously, what the fuck! Damn, dude!"

"Sorry, Sebastian!" groaned the other two. Despite the apology, they exchanged wicked grins. Heather pulled out a piece of paper and a pen from her bag. She wrote, "That was really hot. We should do that and more later. Agree?" She passed it and the pen to Jim. Jim smiled, wrote his own reply, and passed it back to her. "Naughty girl (happy face)! I'm game if you are. Dinner tonight? Without Moran of course." Heather smiled and glanced sideways at Jim. She thought for a moment and responded, "No, dinner WITH him would be SO MUCH BETTER. Trust me. I have a plan. He's going to regret stopping us just now. Just play along with me today and I promise this evening will be one neither of you will soon forget." Heather placed the note in Jim's lap, grazing his crotch with raised eyebrow. Jim read the note and returned the raised eyebrow. Heather smiled an evil grin and nodded quickly. Jim folded the paper and placed it in his pocket. He picked up Heather's hand and held it for the remainder of car ride. He thought to himself, "Oh, Dr. Weire, I think you just might do indeed."

They arrived at a parking garage about three blocks away from the harbor itself and exited the car. Heather hugged Sebastian and said, "Bash, I'm sorry about our behavior in the car. I totally understand how that was uncomfortable for you. I'm so sorry. Um, Jim is pretty cute and charming and I kind of let that get to me. So sorry again. If you want to be mad, be mad at me, not him. I let it happen and it was wrong. I love you and I won't let it happen again. Friends again?" Sebastian hugged her back. "Kitten, of course we're friends. We never stopped. Just be careful with Jim. He's really good at masks and knows how to trick people into doing what he wants them to do. Just … just think with your brain, not your … other … parts." Heather reached down and took Sebastian's hand and started to walk towards the sidewalk and Jim. Jim grabbed Heather's free hand and the threesome took up the entire sidewalk width as they walked. Heather had to admit that she loved being the meat in a Sebastian/Jim sandwich, which made a scandalous thought flitter through her mind for the briefest of moments, causing her to blush ever so slightly. "No, no. Not a chance, girlfriend," she thought as she dismissed the image from her brain. Still the idea did have a little bit of merit and some potential. She silently laughed it off.

After a short walk, they arrived at the Aquarium. The line outside was quite long, and Jim expressed his dismay at the way. "That sign says that there is a two hour wait just to get in. I don't want to wait that long. Let's find something else to do," he whined. Heather reached into her purse and pulled out her wallet. "I've got it. Come with me." With the men in tow, she walked up to the window marked "VIP Admission."

"Dr. Weire, how are you?" asked the man behind the counter. "I'm great, Steve. Thanks for asking. How's Mark? He had a race last weekend, didn't he? How did he do? Win any medals?" Heather inquired.

"No medals, but he improved his time by 2 seconds, so he's happy."

"That's awesome. Tell I said congratulations. Listen, I got two special guests with me today and I wanted to show them around. Is Stacey working today and can she give us a tour? I love her tours."

"She is working today. She's actually training a new guide, so if you're okay with having an extra tag-along, I can set you up with her no problem. Let me call her on the radio now to make sure she's free, ok?"

"Perfect. Thanks so much Steve. You're the best," chirped Heather. "You guys are going to love Stacey. She's brilliant and has been at the Aquarium for years. She knows this place inside and out."

"Dr. Weire, Stacey just went on lunch, but she said that she would be available in 45 minutes. I'm sorry, but did you want to tour with someone else?"

"No, actually, we could use a bite to eat now too. So, we'll go to the café inside and meet Stacey for a tour in about an hour if that works for her."

"I'll check, but that sounds reasonable. Give me just a minute." Steve called Stacey on the radio, told her the plan, and got approval for a private tour in one hour.

"Steve, again thank you so much. Guys, let's go get something to eat," said Heather. She handed the tickets to the men and they entered the Aquarium through the VIP entrance. "Okay, the café is downstairs, so let's head there now and then we'll come back up and meet Stacey here in about an hour."

Jim was rather impressed with how open and beautiful the café was. The food selection was vast, and he had trouble choosing between the macaroni and cheese and the Rueben sandwich. He ultimately chose the sandwich and was pleased with not only the freshness, but also the size of the sandwich. Sebastian got a vegetarian panini and cole slaw, while Heather ordered the macaroni and cheese. She offered Jim a bite after seeing him eyeing it up. He was amazed with the perfect balance of creaminess and bite that the cheese sauce had. The noodles were cooked to a flawless al dente, not mushy like he had expected. "Heather, I have to admit I'm surprised with the quality of the food here. I was really expecting a much lower quality considering."

"Ah, yes. Well, that is one of the many things I love about this place. All of their culinary staff are either students or graduates of culinary schools. You won't find any McDonald's employees here. It's one of the things the Aquarium is known for. Their staff is frequently winning awards. It is a real point of pride for them. In fact, if someone were to have an event here at the Aquarium, they would be required to use the kitchen staff for any food purposes. It's a standard part of the rental agreement. My hospital has several events here throughout the year and no matter what happens, you can always count on leaving very well fed. Bash, how was your lunch? That panini smelled good, despite the mushrooms."

"Yeah, it was good. Especially the mushrooms."

"Ugh, I don't understand how you stand to eat a food that was grown in shit and tastes like Styrofoam. I thought I raised you better than that," teased the redhead. "I blame your mom. Years of eating her atrocious cooking has robbed you of taste."

"Wait, Heather, you've met Sebastian's ma? He won't introduce me. Spoilsport! What is she like? Does she have any pet names for him? Any embarrassing stories? I need to know everything," asked Jim.

"Oh, yeah. I've met both of his parents and his sister Fiona. His sister's a psycho, money-grubbing bitch. But, his parents loved me, especially his dad. But, then, dads do love me! Moms … sometimes not so much, but dads … oh, yeah, dads LOVE me! I think it's a combination of wanting to jump my bones and hoping that I choose their son to marry because let's face it, I'm pretty much the total package. I'm hot, smart, talented, very financially secure, a great cook, and most importantly, SO modest." Heather winked with that last statement. "His mom is okay. She's rather reserved and quiet, almost to the point of being spooky. She can't cook worth anything, but thankfully they have a few house workers."

"Kitten, the word you are looking for is 'servants," said Sebastian. "Servants. My parents have servants."

"You know I don't like the word 'servant.' It sounds so slave-y, like your parents own them or something. It's weird. Henry, Liam, Flora, and Mrs. Chapawick are lovely and I hate to think of them that way. It bugs me on some level. Anyway, his dad is um … well his dad you can definitely tell he was in the military. Um, he's very accustomed to people following his commands without question. I think that he was actually a bit intrigued by me because I asked a lot of questions and argued with him some. Like he wasn't totally sure what to do with me. He knew my dad and had actually seen pictures of us girls, which I didn't know. They had worked on a few things over the years, so that was kind of interesting. I can't really think of any stories from his family. They're not really the 'gather around the hearth, let's have warm family remembrance times' kind of people. More like 'oh, you're still here. Wonderful. Well, I suppose we could have some tea together since we're still married and all' kind of people. Am I painting a fairly accurate picture, Sebastian?"

Sebastian considered her words for a moment and responded, "If anything, I think you painted too rosy of a picture to be honest. Though, I will agree that my da does really like you. He told me that I should marry you and put some children in you before you got away."

"How did he take word of my cancer, cause you know that shut down the baby factory permanently, right?"

"I haven't told him. I figured that was your story to tell."

"Gotcha. I'll get right on that. Right after I send my sex tape to my dad and Pastor Jimmy. I just have to finish the commentary."

Jim's eyes flashed back and forth between his lieutenant and hostess, like he was watching Wimbledon. "She has a sex tape. And she's sending it to her dad? And who's Pastor Jimmy? Is she sending a sex tape to a minister? How freaky was this girl? Did she have cancer now? Where? I've got to do better research. Was this part of the game she was talking about in the car," Jim thought to himself.

Heather noticed Jim's silence and slightly confused look. "Jim, you okay there? Did we completely lose you? Let me explain. About a year and a half ago, I went to the doctor for my annual lady-time exam and because of some minor issues I was having, eventually got diagnosed with stage 1 uterine cancer. I got a partial hysterectomy. With that surgery, especially since we caught it so early, all of the cancer was removed, and I didn't need any more treatment. I just had to go and get checked every 3 months along with some lab work and ultrasounds to make sure nothing came back. I'm fine. I'm in remission. Everything looks great. But, now that I don't have a uterus, I obviously can't have kids. It's a little bit of a disappointment, but it's significantly better than having cancer, so it all works out in the end. Ok?"

"Ok. But what's this about a sex tape? You're sending one to your dad!?"

"Oh, God no! I was kidding! There is no sex tape. There will never be a sex tape. Ever! Totally kidding. Very much kidding! Even if there ever ever ever was one, my dad would be the very last person to get a copy or to know of its existence. And Pastor Jimmy was my childhood minister. He has passed away, but even if he were still alive, he would also not get a copy of any sort of tape like that. He was a very nice man who was very kind to my sisters and me when our parents' divorce was getting really ugly and he was important to me." Heather sighed and shook her head. "Ok, we have about 10 minutes before we have to meet Stacey upstairs, so let's dump the trash, use the bathroom, and head on up."

The trio gathered their trays and placed them on the conveyer belt. Sebastian and Heather headed into their respective restrooms. Heather finished and walked out. Jim was talking on his phone, but Sebastian was nowhere in sight. Jim held up a finger to Heather and thanked whoever was on the other end of the call. "Jim, are you conducting business on your mini vacation," teased Heather. "Vacations are for relaxing and leaving work behind. Don't make me have to take your phone away."

"I would like to see you try."

"Don't tempt me. I don't resist temptation well," warned Heather. "Where's Bash?"

"Still hasn't come out yet. So, you're weak to temptations, huh? Admitting that is your fatal flaw. Come here." Jim pulled Heather into his arms and a strong, passionate kiss. Heather felt her legs go weak and her head swim. She could definitely get used to this. Heather could feel Jim's growing arousal on her stomach.

"Jim, what about Sebastian? You are ruining my plan. We are supposed to be playing it cool. On the other hand, fuck, you are handsome, and someone is making an awfully good argument," she said, gesturing down to Jim's lower half. "You keep kissing me like that and who knows what could happen." She pursed her lips in thought. "What about we compromise? Would you go for continuing those kisses and we keep the rest of our behavior PG-ish while in public? I am well known and can't exactly be seen acting like a hormonal handsy teenager around town. If you behave, tonight I will make up for your restraint. I might even let you get to second base, mister," she said with a wink.

"You drive a hard bargain, lady, but okay, but you owe me big."

"Oh, I was hoping _you_ would be the one to show _me_ 'hard' and 'big' tonight. One more kiss while we can, please."

"Well, since you said please, okay." Jim enveloped Heather in his arms and smothered her with a long, passionate kiss for the ages. Their tongues fought playfully for dominance and Heather had to use ounce of willpower not to strip Jim down right there on the café floor. Thoughts of how she would reward Jim and him her in a few hours flew through her mind, causing her underwear to become unbearably damp and her nipples to harden. An involuntary groan escaped her lips.

"Christ Almighty you two! I leave you alone for 2 minutes to take a shit and you're out here making the beast with two backs! What is wrong with you people? Break it up! People are trying to eat here and you're putting them off their chow!"

"Sebastian! Honey, sorry, didn't see you there. Did you wash your hands?"

"Don't try to charm me, Weire. I've known you for too long for that shit to work. And you, Jim! Leave Heather's mouth alone. It's allowed to exist without your tongue in it. Her pants don't have room for you in them. Stop trying to climb in. Damn you guys!"


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's note: I'm starting this chapter right after (okay 10 minutes, I had to pee and I'm at work, so I had to do a little bit of my actual job) after I posted chapter 8 online, so if you left a review, I haven't seen it. I hope you liked Chapter 8. If you have any ideas or want to see something specific, let me know. I pretty much know where I want this story to go, but I'm open to ideas. Time for the thank yous. In no specific order, thank you to: God, Mofitiss, ACD, Andrew Scott's ancestors, Benedict Cumberbatch's ancestors, my ancestors, your ancestors, ancestors in general, BBC, my husband, and the inventor of caffeine. Ok, obviously at 4:30 am (right now), the inventor of caffeine is my number one guy right now, so he gets the biggest thanks. Also, a huge thanks to the National Aquarium website** .org **for the background information on the National Aquarium. I have tried to represent it as accurately as possible and any oversight or mistake is my own and I deeply apologize for it. It is a wonderful place to visit for all ages.**

Chapter 9

Sebastian took Heather's hand and walked with her upstairs. Jim followed behind, while, ironically, staring at Heather's behind as it swayed back and forth. Stacey was waiting for them at the VIP courtesy desk. "Dr. Weire, how are you today?"

"I'm good, Stace. How are you? Thank you so much for the private tour today. I hope it wasn't too much of an inconvenience for you."

"No, of course not. Did they tell you that I'm training one of our new tour guides today? His name is Will. I think I'm going to let him lead the tour and I'll just speak up if he forgets anything, if that's okay with you."

"Okay, sounds good. I'm sure he'll be great if you trained him. Stacey, these are my friends Sebastian and Jim. Guys, this is Stacey. She and Will will be conducting our tour today. Where is Will?"

"Here he comes." Heather looked up and saw a young, tall, blond man making his way through the crowd towards them. He appeared about 18 years old and had a pleasant appearance. She saw several women looking him up and down as he approached. Heather thought he was okay, not really her taste, but not bad looking in a general, almost bland way.

"Will, this is Dr. Weire and her guests, Sebastian and Jim. They are the private tour I was telling you about," stated Stacey.

"Dr. Weire, Jim, Sebastian. Nice to meet you all."

"It's very nice to meet you too, Will. You can call me Heather if you would like. Stacey, you too. Remember, you guys only ever have to address me as 'Dr. Weire' when we're at the hospital and even then, I'm pretty flexible."

"I know, but Administration likes us to call our VIPs, especially you higher ranking members by your formal names," said Stacey.

Heather rolled her eyes and shook her head, "Ok, go ahead. I don't want to get you in any trouble. Will, Stacey said that you would be leading our tour and she was just going to pipe in if you needed any help. Is that okay? Do you feel ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be. I'm a little nervous, but I'll do my best, Dr. Weire."

"I'm sure you'll do great. Please lead the way. Jim, why don't you and Sebastian change places. Sebastian has taken this tour with me before, so he knows it well, don't you honey? Jim can walk next to me. There are a few things in particular I want to point out to him."

Sebastian opened his mouth to protest, but Jim came back and grabbed Heather's hand, shooting Sebastian a "try me and die" glare. Sebastian took his place beside Stacey with a pout.

Will started, "The National Aquarium was originally established in 1873 in Woods Hole, Massachusetts and is considered the nation's first public aquarium."

"This is one of my favorite places to visit in the city," murmured Heather to Jim. "I always leave having learned something new. It's also very relaxing to tour through here, especially the private tours." Jim smiled back at her. He released her hand and wrapped his arm around her waist at the first exhibit. He watched as she listened to the guide talk about the transition the museum made from its time in Wood Hole to Washington D.C. to its establishment in Baltimore. He studied her face and saw the joy of learning in it. She was amazing. He knew that she had to have heard this story many times before, but still delighted in hearing it each time. Jim tried to remember the last time he felt the same way that Heather clearly felt about this aquarium. He wondered if he had perhaps lost his love of learning somewhere along the way. For a moment, he felt a pang of sadness. Jim was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't realize that it was time to move on until Heather called his name and motioned forward with her head. "Penny for your thoughts, guv-ner," asked Heather in a purposefully bad British accent.

"Just captivated by your beauty, my dear."

"Oh, Jim, you charmer. Let's go before Sebastian comes back here and throws me over his shoulder and carries me through the rest of the exhibit. He sure is acting funny. You don't think he's jealous, do you? I mean that would be ridiculous, right? I'm not stealing you away from him. I would think he would be thrilled that we are getting along so well." Jim realized in that moment that Heather just didn't see the situation for what it was. Sebastian was jealous, but not the way she thought. Sebastian loved Heather and she completely overlooked it. Sebastian wasn't jealous that Heather was taking up _Jim's_ time. He was jealous that Jim was moving in on _his_ girl. "Interesting," he thought. "Heather, let me ask you a question and forgive me if I'm being too forward, but since you've met Sebastian, have you dated anyone else," he asked.

"I've been on a few dates here and there, but nothing serious. Guys tend to get kind of intimidated by me for some reason, so romantic relationships don't last very long. Why do you ask?"

"No reason. Just like to know what I'm getting into," lied Jim.

"Oh … um … okay … um … is it a bad thing that I haven't dated much?" Heather suddenly felt nauseous and a little panicky. She worried that she had just screwed something big up. "I mean … I know how to date … it's kind of like riding a bicycle. You never really forget. A guy asks you out. You say yes. The two of you go do an activity. You act like a decent human being. Say thank you. Make conversation. See if there is any chemistry going on. Maybe kiss a little. Try not to act like a psycho or a total slut. Um … you know … just be yourself unless you are a psycho slut and then maybe act like someone else. Like Batman. Wait, no, don't act like Batman. He's weird. Act like um … the most normal person you know. Unless you don't know any normal … people … because you're … a total … psycho … slut. Shit, this is not going the way I wanted it to. Um, okay … to sum up … yes, I have dated a little since I met Bash, but nothing serious. Two, I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing, per se because I think I still know how to date, you know, this … this ... rambling aside, and um … third, I need to just shut now because I have like no chance with you now, right. I have just completely talked myself right on out of any kind of sexual contact with you for good, haven't I? You probably think I'm a crazy cat lady moron who just rambles on and on. Fuck! Just, fuck!"

Jim laughed. "Heather, I don't know what to do with you. First, I'm sure that you are a great date. I'm enjoying myself right now and this barely counts as a date. Second, any guy who can't see how awesome you are is the moron, not you. Third, you promised me sex and I'm going to make sure you hold up your end of the bargain because baby, I can't wait to see what you deliver. I promise you won't be disappointment with my contribution. Fourth, Batman is not weird. He's complicated. Fifth, that mouth … tut, tut. Do you kiss your mother with that filthy mouth?"

"No, but I'd gladly suck your cock with it," whispered Heather as she pressed her body to his.

Jim was blown away. Such boldness from the redhead. Even the consulting criminal hadn't expected that response. Jim grabbed Heather by the waist and drew her in close to him. "You naughty little girl. Daddy's going punish you for your cheek. Daddy's going to have punish you good. You just wait until we get home."

"I'll be right back. Will, could we stop the tour for a moment? I need to use the ladies room. Thanks."

Heather exited the ladies room after only a moment. "Thanks for that. We can continue." She reached into her pocket and subtly withdrew a piece of folded silk. Handing it to Jim, "Here's a little something for you, sir."

Jim took it in his hand and slipped it into his pants pocket. "Is this what I think it is?"

"Depends on what you think it is. Is it my secret chocolate cake recipe? No. Is it the secret to life? Maybe. Is it my underwear? Absolutely," Heather stared up at Jim through her eyelashes. "Now all you have to do is make it through the rest of the day knowing that there is only a very thin layer of fabric between you and my quim. Think you can handle that, Daddy?"

For the rest of the tour, Jim's arm was snaked around Heather's waist. Periodically, his fingers would sneak down to the front of her pants, earning him a sharp poke in the side and a quietly hissed, "Hands to yourself, Jim." At the end of the tour, Heather shook both Stacey and Will's hands and thanked them profusely for the excellent tour. Before they exited the Aquarium, Heather asked if anyone had to use the rest room. Sebastian said, "I do, but I better not come out and find you two attached at the lips."

"Sebastian, I can promise you that you will in fact come out of the bathroom to find Jim and I attached at the lips and possibly a few other places. You are not my dad, and even if you were, you would still have absolutely no say over my sex life. I'm a grown ass adult and if I want to kiss someone, I will. Now go pop a squat so we can get on to our next destination. I am going to make a huge sacrifice for you.


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's note: Thanks for the reviews so far. I'm glad you guys are getting and enjoying my humor. I have kind of a weird sense of humor, so it's always a bit hit or miss. Thanks to usual suspects: Mofitiss, BBC, ACD, et al. In case you haven't noticed, the past few author notes have had unusual thanks. It's a little fun I'm having with myself and hopefully, you all. This chapter, I'm thanking my mom for breaking up my dad's first engagement, dating him, and marrying him. Without your man-stealing ways, Mom, I wouldn't be here, so here's to my mom, for being a naughty minx. Go Mom!**

Chapter 10

Sebastian stared at himself in the bathroom mirror. "Heather and Jim!? What the hell? My little kitten and my boss? This was not going to end well. He's going to break her heart and she's going to come running to me and I'm going to be stuck in the middle. Plus, she's mine. My kitten. How dare Jim swoop in and steal her from me? He's going to hurt her. This is just a fling to him. He knows it. Mr. 'Sooooo Changeable' himself. Heather deserves better than that. She is a rare, priceless treasure. A princess. _My_ princess. Why didn't I tell her how I felt when I had the chance? Stupid stupid stupid! She'll never go for me now," Sebastian silently berated himself. He finished washing his hands and headed out the door. "Here goes nothing," he thought to himself, plastering a mild smile on his face.

"Bash, are you all ready? Did you want to visit the gift shop or anything before we leave? Jim had wanted to swing by really quick before our next stop," asked Heather.

"Yeah, sounds good. Let's go," replied Sebastian.

Heather studied her friend for a moment. The trio entered the store and Jim and Heather walked over to the book area. While Jim started perusing the selection, Heather looked across the room to her friend. "Jim, Hun, I'm going over to where Bash is. Take your time. I'm just going to check on him quick."

Heather walked up behind her friend and slipped her hand around his waist. "Sebastian, are you okay? You seem … kind of out of it. Is there something you want to talk about?"

"Nope, I'm good. How are you and Jim?"

"Um, okay." Heather paused for a minute. "Bashie, are you upset because Jim and I are hitting it off so well?"

"No, you and Jim can do whatever you want. I'll just be over here on the sidelines like usual. Waiting, like normal." Sebastian walked away. Heather's heart sank. Somehow, she had hurt Sebastian deeply. She walked over to his new location. "Sebastian, honey, I've clearly upset you. I'm sorry. You are really important to me and I want to make this up to you. But I don't know what I did wrong. What happened? Please tell me. Are you mad because Jim and I are kissing? Or cause I didn't walk with you through the exhibit? Or I told you off about having no control over my romantic life? What did I do wrong? How can I make this up to you? I hate that you're mad at me."

"Heather, it's fine. Everything is fine. Jim looks lonely over there."

"No, Bash, you are obviously unhappy. So, no, everything is not fine. Please talk to me. In fact, hold on one minute."

Heather walked over to Jim. "Jim, Sebastian and I need to have a few minutes alone. There is a little alcove right outside the exit doors with some benches. We're going to be out there. Look around. Spend some time in here. There's some really cool, albeit, overpriced stuff here. Just come out when you are done. But give us at least 10 minutes alone, ok?" Jim nodded.

Heather walked back to Sebastian. "C'mon, we're going outside. We are going to have a talk and get this settled out one way or the other." Sebastian started to open his mouth to argue, but Heather cut him off, "Sebastian Augustus, don't argue with me. I'm very pretty and you always do what pretty girls tell you to do. It's the law!"

They walked through the exit and found a bench under a large oak tree. "Ok, what is going on? You have not been yourself since you left the bathroom. Did Mr. McBadTouch do something to you in there or is something else bothering you? Right now, I'm thinking it was the latter rather than the former," Heather said firmly. "Be honest with me now. What is bothering you?"

Sebastian was quiet for a moment. "You and Jim are not a good idea. Jim doesn't have long time girlfriends. He goes through women like most people go through toilet paper. He's just going to hurt you and I can't stand the thought of you getting hurt by anyone, even my boss. He'd kill me if he knew I was saying this to you, but you can't get involved with him. He's bad news, Heather. Bad news," blurted the man.

"Oh, honey! Bless your heart. That is so kind of you," Heather smiled and hugged her friend. "Jim and I … I don't know what we're doing. I'm horny as hell and he's cute and here and you know how weak I get around an Irish accent. I mean, c'mon, it's my number 1 IPR. I hear one and, boop, suddenly my panties are off and across the room. It's a weakness, I admit, but come on … if memory serves, it is a big reason you got in my dainties in the first place, so it kinda worked out well for you, right? There were other reasons too, but your accent really opened my legs to the possibility, if you will. And you know what, maybe a little bad boy is just what this doctor ordered right now. I kind of just feel like having a little fun for a change. But ultimately, here's the deal. If you truly want me to cool with Jim, if that is really what you feel is best, I will. I value our friendship and love you too much to risk losing you over a guy, especially a "good time" guy. All I ask, is that you think about it. Don't answer right now. Just spend the day or at least a few hours really thinking it over. Really make sure that that is really what you want me to do. It is a lot to ask, but I will do it for you. No regrets, no reservations, no holding it over your head in the future. You are that important to me."

"Wait, seriously. You would cut Jim off just like that if I asked you to?"

"Yeah, of course. I mean yeah, I'd love to get me some sweet sweet little Jim action, but you're my best friend and if it is really that big of a problem, I will stop it right here, right now! You're my guy! I need you in my life more than I need penetrative sex. After all, vibrators do exist, so if all fails I do have that. But I thought you already knew you meant that much to me. You didn't? I'm sorry for that too. You're my family. You're better than a big brother. You're my Bashie-bear. You're my world, dude! When something is happening in my life, the first person I want to tell is you. Good, bad, in between. It doesn't matter. You're who I call first. You're my guy, plain and simple. If you were a little easier to get ahold of, you would be my emergency contact, not my mom. You are already the main beneficiary for my life insurance. If I kick it, you get everything, including the cats, after all the bills are paid. My memorial service and cremation and all that are already set up and paid for. My lawyer has all the info and has strict instructions to release everything to you, not my parents. They don't know that, but it's true. You are that important to me. Cutting off some guy because you don't like him is nothing compared to our friendship. Guys come and go, but my Basher stays forever. That's why last night when I thought for a minute that Jim had ordered you to kill me, yeah, I was scared, but I knew that you would do in the least painful way you knew how. I trust you even with my death." By this point, Heather had started to tear up. She wasn't this open and raw on a regular basis and it made her feel a little anxious to be so.

Sebastian stared at Heather. Her admissions shocked him. He never knew that he was such an influential figure in her life. Was it possible that she loved him, like romantically? Maybe she did. After all, she was willing to give up sex for him. You don't just do that for a friend. And what was all this about her memorial service and being the beneficiary on her insurance? She trusted him to kill her. He knew he could never do it, but still, she trusted him to KILL her! Her absolute faith in him astounded and humbled him. He reached over to hug her, as his mind reeled. "Should I make a move on her? Maybe try a small kiss. See where it goes. Where is Jim? I wish I knew when he was coming out. What would happen if Jim caught them kissing? Jim is very competitive. Hell, Jim is the most competitive person I know. I'd be out of a job. Which means I'd be dead soon after. But what about Heather? Would he kill her too? Probably," mused Sebastian silently. "No, I have to do this. Fortune favors the brave, right?"

"Heather …" Sebastian reached down and cradled Heather's face tenderly in his hands. "There's something I need to tell you. I …"

 **Note: IPR is short for "Instant Panty Remover." It's a fun little term I heard several years ago that describes something that basically turns a "no" to a "yes." Highly inappropriate, but everyone has one. In my case, a nice butt and a beautiful pair of eyes are two of my IPRs. My husband has both. (I love you, honey.)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's note: Well, y'all, I was going to make you wait a bit longer for this next chapter because I do love a good cliffhanger, but … just like Jim, I am SOOOOOO changeable. So here it is. Standard thanks to those responsible. Today being Halloween, I want to give a special shout out to the Ancient Celts of Scotland and Ireland for establishing the basis of what we currently know as Halloween. It's an interesting story. Oh, Ireland, first you give us Halloween, then potatoes, now Andrew Scott. Does your giving know no limit? Review and enjoy!**

Chapter 11

"I love you, Heather. You are the most amazing person I know," exclaimed Sebastian.

"Oh, Bash, I love you too. I have loved you since the first day we met! Even though you were a total prat to me, I still loved you." Heather smiled and hugged him as tight as she possibly could. "So, you're not mad at me?"

"Kitten, I'm not mad at you. I'm thrilled. This is so amazing! I don't know why I wait-," breathed Sebastian.

"I'm so glad you're okay with me and Jim. I know it's going so fast, but this feels so right. I mean, if you hadn't been okay, if you said that you wanted me to break it off, I totally would have. I was dead serious about that. I would have been crazy bummed because oh my God in heaven above and Satan below, can that man kiss, but for you, it would have been over in less than a heartbeat. I mean, dude, seriously, it's like monsoon season in my lower 48, but for you, anything. Bash, … I actually gave him my underwear the last time I went to the bathroom! Who does that? Not me! But I did! And this is my good underwear. The stuff I get from Frederick's of Hollywood, not the granny panties I normally wear from Target. The lacy, slutty, $100 a piece stuff. But, anyway, back to my point. Honey, you will always be my Bash-Bash. Our friendship means the world to me. I know I've said it before, but I just know that you and Brian would have gotten along SO great if you had met him when he was alive. You guys would have been best friends. We would have been the Three Musketeers, but better! Oh, God, Bash, you have no idea how happy you've made me. Later, you have to give me the lowdown on Jim. I want to know everything. Childhood, siblings, favorite color, weirdest quirk, secret talent, oh, any funny pictures I have to see. Everything! But, first … first we are going to see your favorite thing here. Even though it terrifies me. I insist! Yup, we are going to tour the Torsk! I'll even let you do all the talking. I know it's your favorite sub and you know everything about it. Are you excited," Heather smiled expectedly at her friend.

Sebastian swallowed his sadness like a bitter pill. He could see that Heather was absolutely glowing with excitement. Only it wasn't just excitement. The morning sun reflected off her coppery hair, creating an almost halo-like appearance around her. The gray t-shirt fit her curves perfectly, as did the skin-tight jeans. Unlike many former military contractors, she had maintained the muscular definition and healthy body proportions she had while overseas. Her porcelain skin was flawless, except for a smattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose, belying her age. The little make-up she did wear accented her natural features perfectly. Her wide smile caused the dimples in her cheeks to deepen and was offset by her delicate chin. He had met her mom and sisters and knew based on that some of her beauty was genetic, but none of them could compare to Heather's easy allure.

"Bash, are you excited? You do want to go to the sub, right? If you don't want to, it's okay. I just know that you always really liked it before." Heather placed her hand on Sebastian's bicep. "We can do whatever you want next since Jim picked the Aquarium. It's your turn to pick. I want to pick dinner, though. I want to go to Dave & Buster's. I haven't been in a long time and I'm kinda excited to show Jim my favorite restaurant. Do you think he'll like it? I know it's kind of goofy there, but I thought it might be fun to challenge him to some games. You can devastate him with your mad skee-ball skills. What do ya say? A little skee-ball and steak? You, me, and the Jim-ster?" Heather had decided after their talk to abandon the plan she had hatched in the car. The timing just felt off somehow.

Sebastian plastered a grin on his face. "Yeah, absolutely. Skee-ball sounds awesome. I don't think Jim's ever played it, so we're going to annihilate him. And yeah, you're right. I do love that old sub. But are you sure you're going to be okay? I mean, your claustrophobia is pretty bad, and you know how tight that ship is. I don't want to do anything that's going to hurt you."

"Well, as long as you don't tell that one story about the guy and the torpedo shoot, I'll survive. After all, I've got two big, strapping fellas to keep me safe. But … you … you do remember what to do if my anxiety gets too bad, right? The breathing thing in the field. You'll lead me through that right? Because it really does help a lot. I mean … I try to be brave but … the space is so tight … and I can't breathe … and I'm so scared that we're going run out of oxygen … and all of those people are down there and they're … all breathing SO much of the precious oxygen and … and … and … what if someone shuts the lid on the boat … and we're trapped inside … and there's not enough air and …" Heather felt herself start to panic. She started to shake and hyperventilate even there in the open courtyard.

"Heather … breathe … in … and out … in … and out. It's okay. Close your eyes. You're in a wide-open meadow surrounded by flowers. There's a babbling brook off to your right. Do you hear it? Just keep breathing. In … and out … in … and out. There you go. There's lots of air here. It's a bright sunny day. There's plenty of air. The trees just keep pumping it out nonstop. Breathe in … and out … in … and out. So much air. Everywhere. Lots and lots of air. Other than the trees and the flowers and the brook, there's nothing for miles around. Now turn around. I'm standing right behind you. I'm putting my arms around your waist, but you still have plenty of air to breathe. Your lungs can expand all the way, taking in more air than you can possibly use. Can you feel all of the air filling your chest? So much air. Do you see the beautiful sunflowers over there to our left? The farmer really grew a bumper crop this year, didn't he? Do you want to go pick some? Let's go pick some. They look so pretty. You're totally safe here. Take my hand as we walk over to the flowers. We're both breathing no problem. These flowers are going to look so pretty in the kitchen, aren't they? There you go. Just breathe. Nice and slow. You're doing great." By this time, Jim had shown up and was watching his second in command with a quizzical look on his face. Sebastian held up a hand and then a finger to him. Jim stood back and nodded twice. "Kitten, are you doing okay now. Your breathing has slowed down some. Do you want to open your eyes now? Jim's here and he looks a little worried. Can I tell him what's going on?"

Heather opened her eyes, looked at Jim, and started crying. "Jim, I'm sorry. I … I." Her pulse started to race again, and she felt so ashamed. "Bash, I need to go sit down for a minute. Can you …" she indicated towards Jim.

Sebastian guided her over to the closest bench and walked back to Jim. "Jim, Heather started to have a panic attack. I got her calmed down, but … God, she's going to kill me for telling you this but … Jim, she likes you. She likes you a lot. I've never seen her act like this over a guy. She's normally very collected and cool, but she likes you and I think she's afraid that if you see her … I don't know … not perfect, you're going to leave her. I know that she's secretly afraid of people thinking she's a weirdo and abandoning her. Her parents … to be honest, her parents are a lot like mine. Yours too. They weren't good to her growing up and now she's terrified of not projecting a perfect image for everyone. In her family, image was everything. All that mattered to her da was that everything looked perfect from the outside. Reality be damned. Feelings didn't matter. Only image. Only what everyone else thought. Now she has this crazy pathological need to look perfect always, no matter what, but it makes her feel like shit when she can't be real. They really fucked her up. I can't stand those people and tried to get her to cut them off for her own well-being, but, the ever-loving optimist that she is, refuses to believe that there isn't some kernel of goodness in them that if she just tries hard enough, she will eventually please them. That is her greatest wish in life. To hear that bastard of a father of hers to finally say that he is proud of her. I can't convince her that he will never do that because he's just a complete asshole who probably doesn't know what love is, but she's convinced that she will eventually do something that will earn his love and respect. It makes me so angry that I have thought of picking him off, but I know that I can't because it would ruin her, and I can't be the one to do that to her. I won't be the one to do that to her! Anyway, we were talking about what we should do after this and she suggested touring this submarine here that she knows I love. She has super bad claustrophobia and just thinking about going in there sent her into a panic attack. I don't want to go if just thinking about does that to her, but she knows how much I love it and won't take no for an answer. Again, just another example of how she cares way too damn much about making other people happy, even when it makes her physically sick. I got her calmed down, but then she saw you see her weak and you saw what happened."

Jim bit his bottom lip, processing everything he had just heard. "That WAS a lot, Sebastian. Thank you." He walked over to Heather who was wiping away tears from her face. He handed her his handkerchief. He took a deep breath and sat down next to her. Staring off into the distance, he said, "I just do not know what to do with you, Heather." He sighed again. He turned towards her and lifted her chin, "Get this through your thick red-headed skull once and for all. I AM NOT LEAVING YOU! I don't like to repeat myself, so I will not say this again. You are perfectly imperfect, and I love it. I love you. I fucking love you. God help me, I love you. I don't love anyone, not even myself, but I fucking love you. I don't know how you did it. Jim Moriarty doesn't love. No one gets to me. No one! But you did! I love that you are crazy and neurotic and smart-mouthed and babble. I love that you are willing to go do something that terrifies you so much that you have a panic attack just thinking about it because it is something your friend likes. I love that you opened your home to a man with a strong reputation of killing people first and never asking questions second. And from over the phone, no less. I love that you knew me for 10 minutes and yet spent twice as long challenging me over a seatbelt. No one challenges me. Not even Moran, but you … you do! And over a seatbelt! How much clearer do I have to be? You're so concerned about impressing me that you can't see that I'm not only impressed, I'm obsessed. You own me. God, you are the most maddening woman on Earth. I just do NOT know what to do with you! What do you want from me? What? Tell me and it's yours! GOD!"

"You can start by stop yelling at me. You're not exactly a glass box of openness, Jim. How the hell am I supposed to know that you love me? You don't think I researched you at least a little? Sebastian talks about you once in a while. Over the years, I've developed kind of a picture of who you are. And it ain't exactly a picture of Mr. Motherfucking Rogers over here, buddy! Sebastian kinda painted you as a cold, hard sonofabitch who's not exactly in touch with his inner child. Today, we have almost had sex twice and I haven't exactly heard any Shakespearian sonnets of love and devotion outta your mouth. I thought I was gonna get some cheap, but toe-curling orgasms and be tossed to the curb. Bash makes your relationships with women sound like they end either in murder or a fling of cash and a security escort out the door. I was hoping for best case scenario, a curt "wham, bam, thank ya mam" when you two left the country. I was hoping you wouldn't kill me. That would be the height of rudeness, considering. For what it's worth, I love you too. There, I said it. I love you. And I'm not just saying it because you did. Ask Sebastian. I said it to him just a few minutes ago. About you. Even though I knew it was stupid and pointless and dangerous. But, yeah, I love you! I don't know why! I just do! I don't do this shit! The last man I fell in love with at first sight died two days after we got married. He fucking died! Dead! Boom! A building fell on him. A building that he wasn't even supposed to be in. We were going to leave for our honeymoon later that day. I was only working a few hours in the morning to see some clinic patients. He was supposed to be off work. Safe at home! Playing video games! Neglecting his share of the thank you notes that should have been written! Getting horny thinking about me! Eating his ridiculously sugary cereal with way too much milk, drinking a soda with breakfast instead of something sensible like coffee or tea or juice! But no, I had allowed him to cover a couple hours at work for a friend and then he DIED! Who the fuck dies not even 48 hours after they get married? After standing up in front of their friends and family and God himself and swearing, promising, vowing, to live a long life with the person standing across from them. We were supposed to grow old and toothless and senile together! Surrounded by acres of children, and grandchildren, and great grandchildren, and dogs, and roosters, and everything! That's why I don't do this shit! Because MEN LEAVE! They leave when you love them! So how am I supposed to know that you won't leave me? Huh? How Jim? How do I know that you won't leave me like he did? Answer me that, Mr. High and Mighty Consulting Criminal! Mr. Fix-It-All! Answer me that!" Heather broke down and started crying again.

Sebastian came running over when Jim started yelling. He stood behind Heather with a terrified look on his face. He heard Heather's response. She had never told him all of that, even after all these years. No wonder she was so scared all the time. She had once told him that she loved Afghanistan because "it made sense." He finally understood what she meant. Compared to everything she still felt about Brian's death, of course the war zone made sense. There was order. There was cause and effect. A bomb goes off and you will see certain specific injuries. You see those injuries, you do certain specific things to fix it. Was this why she chose trauma surgery? Did she find the same kind of sense in the mangled bodies she dealt with on a daily basis? Sebastian caught Jim's eye after Heather's tirade. He raised his eyebrow towards his boss.

Jim turned back to Heather and put his arm back around her. "I can't promise you that something won't happen to me or even Sebby. You're right. I might have to leave before you are ready to let me go. But Kitten, I'm here now. That's all I can guarantee you. I'm sorry if that's not enough. But it's all I can give you. I can give you right now. But, no matter what happens, always remember, I love you. I love you and I want to see where this takes us. Can we do that," responded the Irishman quietly.

"Okay, … um Jim,"

"Yes, sweetie?"

"Can I have a hug? I feel really vulnerable right now. Not a sexy hug, just a loving hug," sniffed Heather.

"Always, my princess."

"Um, Jim … can I give Bashie a hug too? Then we can go to the sub. I did promise him that we would go."

Sebastian piped up, "Heather, I don't want to go to the sub today. You already had one panic attack today and now you're kind of upset. I don't want to stress you out anymore. It's okay, really. We can go somewhere else. Do you want to go shopping?" He gave a Heather a hug and rubbed her back reassuringly.

"No, honey, I promised you we would go. I'll be okay. Plus, Jim's never been, and you would be the perfect tour guide for him. I heard they added some new plaques inside. Let's go. C'mon." She grabbed his hand and dragged him towards the walkway.

Sebastian shot Jim a look. Jim threw his hands up in the air and followed the duo.

"Jim, come up here with us. Take my other hand." The threesome made their way around the crowded thoroughfare and over to the World War II era submarine. Heather bought the tickets and brought them back to the guys. "Okay, you guys ready? Let's go."

They climbed aboard the sub, Sebastian in the front, Heather in the middle, and Jim bringing up the rear. Heather reached back to hold Jim's hand, while Sebastian reached back to grab hers. When Jim realized Sebastian was holding Heather's hand, he dropped her hand and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. He whispered into her ear, "Are you okay? If you get scared, just let me know. I'm right here behind you. I won't let anything happen to you. I promise." Heather smiled and rubbed his hand. She stopped and leaned back against his chest. "Thanks baby."

Sebastian led them through the naval vessel like it was his own, frequently stopping to point out various details of the craft's workmanship or finer points of sea-faring life. Heather's anxiety level remained high, but knowing that she was sandwiched between her two favorite guys helped to keep it at a manageable level. Still, she was quite relieved to exit the tight vessel 45minutes later. "Ok, well, the tickets I bought allow us to see one more boat. Here's a list of the ones open today. Jim, why don't you pick the second one."

"How about the USS Constellation? It looks like the closest one and it's not a sub, so we're good there."

"Oh, I don't think I've been to that one. Sound good, Bash?"

"Sure, let's go."

Jim took Heather's hand and, behind her back, flashed Sebastian a look of "give us space." Sebastian waited until the two were a good 10 steps ahead of him before following.

"Oh, Jim, should we wait for Bash? I don't want to lose him."

"Nah, he's good at keeping track of people in crowds. Besides, I want some time alone with you. How are feeling after touring the submarine? Breathing ok? Do you need to sit down for a minute? You handled really well."

"Still a little tiny bit shaky inside, but it really helped having you there. And Bash. Thanks for everything today. I'm sorry I yelled at you earlier."

"Well, on the upside, at least we got our first fight done and over with. And we both survived! Not many people survive a fight with me. I can't imagine many survive one with you, either." Heather smiled.

"No, you're right about that. My temper doesn't show very often, but it is quite blistering when it does. It's the Irish in me, I suppose."

"I'd like to put about 9 more inches of Irish in you," thought Jim to himself. "Yeah, you're probably right. We Irish are certainly known for our tempers," said Jim. "Ah, here we are at the USS Constellation, I believe.

"Jim, I changed my mind about the plan I mentioned in the car. After everything today, it doesn't feel like the right thing to do right now. Some things have changed, and I need to reassess how to move forward. Don't worry, though. We are still on for sex tonight. I'm actually a bit more eager now than I was before. Ew, I just realized. I don't have any condoms at home. It's been a bit of a dry spell lately and I'm out. You don't happen to have any, do you?"

"I can honestly say that when I packed for this trip, sex was the last thing on my mind, so no. What do you want to do?"

"Well, um … I know that I'm clean and I can't get pregnant, so … um … can you say the … same about yourself or … do we need to … ya know … make a stop somewhere?"

Jim chuckled, "I'm clean too and pretty sure I can't get pregnant either so it's up to you. Do you want to make a stop, or should we go free and clear?"

Heather's inner voice screamed at her, "Don't be stupid, Weire! What do you always say? "No glove, no love.' Well … winter's coming and your hands are bare. This is a no-brainer." Heather stared into those deep chocolate eyes and threw caution to the wind. "I want to feel all of you, Mr. Moriarty. Every last bit. We're good without," she purred in a husky voice.

"Brilliant. I was hoping that was what you picked. Get ready for a wild ride, cowgirl! Oh, look, here comes Moran, right on time." Jim ground his teeth and rolled his eyes. "That man is a walking cockblock today. I'm going to have to send him far away when we get back," thought Jim.


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's note: Wow, that last chapter was a doozy, huh? Heather's tirade was based off some real-life stuff for me. My husband and I did get married on 9/9/01 and he is a firefighter. We don't live anywhere near NYC, but after the attacks, I started to have frequent nightmares that what happened to Brian in the story actually happened to my husband. Those nightmares brought up a lot of really hard feelings for me and I used that for her. I can't even imagine what I would do if that actually did happen to him. Those nightmares went away for the most part eventually, but as a fire-wife, I still occasionally worry about him. I'll probably never stop worrying about his safety, but I know the guys and gals he works with and the high level of training, so that knowledge does help a lot. Plus, as a volunteer EMT myself, I know that my responsibilities place me at increased risk sometimes too, so life is what it is. With that in mind, today's special thank you is to all the first responders out there. Paid or volunteer, I'm proud to be part of the brother/sisterhood. Now let's crawl out of our warm, safe, comfy beds at 3 in the morning to save a life with a big smile on our faces because you know deep down we live for this stuff. *Kittypawswrites asked a question that I thought I had covered, but I might have missed so I'll answer it here. Sebastian and Heather met in Afghanistan in 2008. He was still in the Army and she was an independent contractor hired to provide trauma care. I know that that isn't how it actually works, but my story, my rules. I apologize if I missed writing this detail. Thank you for asking. ***

Chapter 12

Suddenly the air was filled with the sounds of cows mooing. Heather grabbed her phone out of her purse. "Oh, Jim, I need to take this call. I'll be back in a minute." She walked off.

"Where's Heather going," asked Sebastian.

"Said she had to take a call. She should only be a minute. Let's spend that time talking. So, how long have you been in love with her, Sebastian?"

"What? I'm not in love with her, Boss. We're just friends. She said she loves you. She's all yours, not mine. You know I would never get between you and a girl" sputtered Sebastian.

"Cut the crap, Moran. You love her. It's obvious to everyone, except her. I understand. How could you not love her, but you missed your chance. So, the question is, what are we going to do about this problem? I can't have you mooning over her."

"Well, what do you want to do? Are you firing me? Do you want me to leave the firm? Stop being her friend? What? I really have no idea what to do here. I never saw this coming. How was I supposed to?"

"Aw, so you _do_ love her? I knew it. Well, I can't fire you and no one leaves the company alive, you know that better than anyone else. Like it or not, you're too damn good at your job to replace you or send you somewhere else long term. I think it might devastate her if you cut off your friendship. I can't have that. I'll have to think of something. She said that you talk about me sometimes. What have you told her? How much have you told her about our business? My business? Who else have you been talking to? Holmes? Scotland Yard? Who?"

Sebastian had the good sense to look terrified as Jim's eyes grew darker, "No one, boss! I swear. She's smart and knows what I'm capable of so when I started working for you, I told her that I was doing private security. She didn't believe me. Kept saying that it was way beneath me to be some 'rent-a-cop.' I told her there was more to it than that, but she kept pushing me to find something more fitting my skills. One day, she called me right in the middle of a job. The target was taking forever to get in the right position, so I sat on the phone with and chitchat with her while I waited. Suddenly, I had the perfect shot, so I took it and she heard it in the background and asked me what had happened. I tried to lie to her, but she's not stupid, so I finally had to admit to her what I did. She took it remarkably well. She said that, while she wasn't happy that I was murdering people, she was happy that I had found a job that fit my unique skill set. That night, we had a long talk over FaceTime and I showed her my weapons and the apartment and told her how happy and fulfilled I was. Like I said, she took it beautifully. She is an amazing girl. Said she was just glad that I was happy and being useful. She was worried that I was wasting my life away in self-imposed prison. Over the years, yeah, I've talked about you a little. Just little snippets here and there. Like, 'Oh, Jim's being cranky today because he had to wait an extra 30 seconds for his coffee this morning, so I had to kill the barista's family this afternoon' or 'I'm not going to be available for a few days because Jim's decided we have to fly to Egypt right this minute.' She talks about her work too. Just friend stuff. Never confidential business stuff. If there's something I can't tell her, I just tell her that she would be safer not knowing. She accepts that without a problem. I swear!"

Heather walked up at that moment. "Hey, I see some serious faces over here. What's going on? Did I hear some business talk going on? This is vacation, not a business meeting, so no business talk. Only fun talk! Speaking of fun talk, Bash, do you remember me telling you about Jack Johnson from St. Bart's. Well, I called him this morning and he just returned my call. They are very interested in talking to me so I'm coming to London in two weeks to interview there. My interview is set up for Friday the 17th. When we get home, I need to book plane tickets and a hotel. Oh, I need to make arrangements for the cats too."

"How long are you going to be in London," asked Jim. "You can stay with me. I insist. After all, I owe you for putting up with me for a few days."

"Oh, Jim, that's so sweet. Um … yeah, ok, thanks! I am curious to see casa de Moriarty. Oh, yeah, I also have to rent a car. I almost forgot. Ok, place to stay, plane tickets, cats, car, what am I forgetting?"

"You don't have to rent a car. I have plenty that you can borrow, and I'll pick you up from the airport. Do you want to go shopping for something to wear? My treat. We need to celebrate!"

"JIM, you are too sweet! I have plenty of stuff at home to wear. We don't need to go shopping. I know that would bore you guys to tears, anyway. Let's go tour that boat. Ready?" She took Jim's hand and the trio walked towards the frigate.

After a few minutes, Heather turned towards Sebastian. "Bash, you're being uncharacteristically mute lately. What's up, Buttercup? I thought you would be more excited. Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good. I'm trying to take everything in. Hey! Congrats on the interview. That's really great. So, you might be moving to London? Cool."

"You don't sound so sure about your excitement there, sweetie. When we talked last night, it sounded like you kind of wanted me to move to London. I mean, we'll be able to see each other more, especially since Jim and I are together. That's what you wanted … right? I'm picking up some mixed messages here," Heather smiled tentatively. "If you changed your mind … uh … oh … oh … okay? I'm just a little confused now."

"No, Heather. I am excited. I would love to see you more often. It would be great, but you know you should only move if it's what is best for you, not because someone else is telling you to. I mean, you _do_ have a great life here. You love your job. You have a great house with plenty of land. Most of your friends are here. All of your volunteer work is here. Your family, even though they drive you nuts, are here. Yeah, London has me and your Dad, but we both know how to use the phone and get on a plane. I just don't want you to uproot your entire life for no good reason."

Heather smiled, "You forgot the one thing that London has that Baltimore will never have. Jim. Jim lives in London. It's where he works. I can't ask him to move everything here. My job is a lot more moveable than his. Plus, maybe I need to uproot my life some. You know me. I can't stay in one place for too long. I need to travel and live and experience new things. Everything is getting too easy and settled for me. I need to shake things up some. And, my dad isn't getting any younger, and I miss him sometimes. He's never going to retire, you know that. He's going to die at his desk and probably come back to haunt his successor just to be spiteful. Maybe if I move there, he and I can spend some time together and we can get closer. Maybe I can even make him proud of me. If he sees me more often, he'll see something to be proud of me for. He'll see how hard I work and the difference I make in people's lives. Right, I mean that could happen?" Heather twisted her hands and bit her lip. "Plus, I miss you. FaceTime just isn't nearly as good as seeing you in person. We can go shooting together and go out to pubs and stuff. It'll be great!"

Jim sauntered over, "What are we talking about over here, ladies?" He picked up Heather's hand and kissed the knuckles. "Oh, Bash and I are talking about me maybe moving to London. He's just worrying himself silly about me, like usual. Silly man! But, hey, that's why I love him. He helps keep me at least somewhat attached to reality. You know, I'm so glad that you two know each other so well. I always worried about how I would introduce Bash to a future love interest. Most guys would get incredibly jealous and think that Bashie was in love with me. Like a straight guy and a straight girl can't just be friends! Isn't that the most ridiculous thing ever? Not everything is about sex! Like I know that I could be totally naked in front of Bash and it wouldn't phase him in the least. He'd probably just complain about me blocking the tv screen. I'm so lucky my two favorite guys are friends. It just makes my life so much easier." She gave Jim a kiss on the lips and Sebastian a quick kiss on the cheek. Jim shot Sebastian a thunderous look.

They finished the tour of the boat and exited the plankway. "Whew, guys I need to sit down for a minute," exclaimed Heather. She reached into her purse and pulled out her wallet. "Could someone go get me a bottle of water. I'm so thirsty. You get something for yourself too."

Jim pulled out some cash out of his wallet and thrust it into Sebastian's hands. "Go get all three of us something to drink, Sebby. I'll stay her with Heather." Jim smiled a grin that failed to reach his cold, black eyes. Sebastian turned and began the walk to the nearest street vendor. "Are you having a good time, love? Not too tired? We can go home if you are," cooed Jim to his beloved.

Heather turned her back towards Jim and leaned into his chest. "No, honey. I'm a little tired and definitely thirsty, but I'll be fine. I am having a good time being out here with you two. I was thinking for dinner we would go to this place called Dave and Buster's. It's kind of a zoo, but it's fun. It's family dining, but they also have an arcade and stuff. It's fun. Does that sound okay? It's about a block that way."

Jim wrapped his arms around her. "Yeah, ok. That wasn't what I had in mind, but we'll give it a try. Now tomorrow night, I'm taking you out. Just the two of us. Somewhere very nice. We are going to have a proper date night. How does that sound?"

"Well, I will feel a little bad about leaving Bash alone, but I suppose I could make him the lasagna during the day tomorrow. I'm sure he'll understand. I really am glad that you two get along so well. I couldn't imagine my life without him and most guys just wouldn't understand how important he is to me. They would make me choose between them and him and I can't do that. Actually, I guess I could. I would choose him. He's my best friend and I need him. He was the first guy I trusted to get close to me after Brian died and he knows my demons and likes me despite all of them. I'm so lucky to have him in my life. I know his demons too. I know what he does for you and while, I don't completely approve, I do understand and appreciate that his job is almost perfect for him. Thanks for that. He needs that in his life. When he first told me that he was doing private security, I wasn't happy, but once I found out exactly what this version of 'private security' was, I knew that he would be okay. I do worry about him getting hurt or even killed, but I know he's happy and doing what he loves, so que sera sera."

Sebastian came back with three bottles of water. He handed two of them over and gave Jim his change. Heather cracked hers open and took a long drink off of it. "Aww, that tastes good. Thanks honey. Hey, Bash, um Jim and I were talking and we're going to go out to dinner just the two of us tomorrow night if that's okay with you. I'll make you the lasagna tomorrow and you can eat it for dinner. Is that okay?"

Sebastian glanced at Jim. "Oh, yeah. Lasagna sounds great. Tomorrow I'll just hang with the cats. We'll give each mani-pedis and talk about boys and stuff. It'll be great."

"Really? I totally understand if you don't want to spend the night alone. I know it wasn't exactly what we had planned, but …"

"No, it's cool. It's just dinner, right? You guys should only be gone for like 2 hours or so. I'll manage."

"Thank you so much, Bash. I owe you big time."

"Well, now that that is settled, what should we do next? Shopping? Another museum? What would you like to do, Kitten," asked Jim.

"Well, do you mind if we go do a little shopping? I promise we won't do it for long. I know guys hate shopping, but there are some cool boutiques around. One is this huge two-story candy store that has like every candy known to man in it. Not really a boutique, but I love going there and going a little wild." Heather blushed.

" _Every_ candy known to man? Well, lead the way, love. This I have to see," teased Jim.

Heather led them to the four-story shopping plaza. Over the next three hours, they visited every store, and, by the end, Sebastian's arms ached from carrying all of the bags they had picked up. Jim had been truly impressed by the candy story and spent close to $300 there alone. They had visited a kitchenware store and Jim had insisted on buying almost everything that had caught Heather's eye there. Most of what had been bought would be delivered to her house the next day thanks to some healthy monetary encouragement towards the staff by Jim. Sebastian had his "kid in a candy store moment" when they came to the army surplus store. Heather stood back and watched as her best friend practically danced around the store, picking things up and showing them to her like a proud puppy. She just smiled and laughed at his sheer joy. His eyes were glowing and the smile on his face stretched from ear to ear. "He gets so excited when we come here," she whispered to Jim. "It's like Christmas, his birthday, and the aftermath of a bloody massacre all rolled into one for him. I love seeing him like this. All excited and smiley! Just look at the grin! It's like he took out a big nest of hostiles single-handedly while drinking a beer and getting laid. He's so happy! It warms my heart to see him like this. God, I'm excited for him!"

"Heather, Heather," Sebastian came rushing up to her. "They have a sale on fatigue pants and a bunch in my size. They never have my size. This is so AWESOME!"

"Oh, honey. That's great! You should get some. But don't get too much stuff. You want to make sure that you'll have room in your luggage to take it all home, okay?" She turned to Jim, "See, how excited he gets here."

"Sebastian, put the pants down. You know how I feel about your wardrobe choices. Fatigues are NOT an appropriate fashion choice. You have a ton of very expensive suits at home. We do not wear fatigues," seethed Jim.

Sebastian's face fell. "Jim, let him have 1 or 2 pairs. Look how happy they make him. What if he just wore them to bed and around the house for casual time. They make him so happy. They would be okay for sleepwear, right? Certainly, you don't expect him to wear a suit to bed. C'mon," pleaded Heather.

Jim pursed his lips. "Alright, one pair, but you DO NOT wear them to work. Sleep or relaxing around the house only!"

"Thank you, Jim. Thanks Kitten!"

"You're welcome, sweetie. What else do you have there? Is that a new knife? Can you show it to me?"

Jim rolled his eyes. "I am too soft for my own good. But this does give me an idea of what to do with Moran when we get back," Jim thought to himself. "Sebby, I see they have some nice coats over here. You should take a look at them. You never know when we have to jet off somewhere down right Arctic," Jim called out to his lieutenant.

Eventually, Sebastian had covered the entire store and completed his purchase. They exited the store and proceeded to the next one, and on and on until they reached the last one.

As they left the mall, Heather heard her stomach growl. She looked at her watch and saw that it was 5 pm. "I'm pretty hungry. Let's take the bags to the car and then go to get something to eat. I'll call ahead for a reservation." She called and made the earliest reservation they had at 5:45. The trio walked to the car and deposited the bags in the trunk. Locking the car and setting the alarm from her keychain as they walked away, Heather looked at her watch again. "Okay, we have about 30 more minutes and it should take us about 15 minutes to walk there."

Jim took Heather's hand and they walked side-by-side along the sidewalk. Sebastian trailed behind. It pained him some to see his love walking hand-in-hand with another guy, but he knew he would just have to get over it. She was happy and, after all she had been through with Brian's death, he guessed she deserved that much. He still worried about the long term with Jim. "He better treasure her. He's won the golden ticket of girls and he damn well better never forget it," Seb thought to himself. After a bit, they arrived at the restaurant. Heather gave the host her name and reservation time. He handed her a flashing pager. "This will light up and ping when your table is ready. It should only be 5-10 more minutes." Heather smiled and nodded.

She returned to the boys and relayed the information. Three minutes later, the pager came alive. "Guess we're ready." The group weaved their way up to the host stand and handed in the pager. The host led them back through the dining room to their table. Heather and Jim sat on one side of the booth and Sebastian the opposite. They picked up their menus.

"Everything here is amazing. Bash loves their teriyaki sirloin steak. I think I'm going to go with my old favorite of bacon-wrapped shrimp with lobster sauce and fire-grilled salmon. See anything you like, Jim or do you want some suggestions? The fish and chips are good. So is the chicken Parmesan alfredo."

"Actually, I was looking at the Bang Bang Chicken with Spicy Thai Peanut Noodles. Have you tried that?"

"No, I haven't. I'm allergic to pineapple and coconut and the sauce has pineapple in it, so that's a no go for me. It looks good, but I don't want to die so I steer clear."

"Oh, well then so will I. What about the Baked Chicken and Shrimp Alfredo?"

"That's really good. I've had it a few times. I normally get it without the mushrooms, though. Not a mushroom fan at all."

"Perfect. That's what I'll get then. Without the mushrooms."

Sebastian murmured, "I'm getting the steak if any cares."

"Sebastian, I care. I was just trying to help Jim since he's never been here before. I thought he might like some suggestions. Sebastian, would you like to pick out an appetizer for the table?"

"Sorry. How about the spinach dip? Does that sound okay to you guys?"

"Yeah, that sounds good to me. How about you Jim?"

"Sounds fine with me."

"Hey guys, I'm Tabitha. I'm going to be your waitress tonight. What can I get you started with?

"Hi, Tabitha. I'll have a glass of water and a Watermelon Adult Snow Cone to drink. Then we are going to start with the spinach dip and I'll have the Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp with Lobster Sauce and Fire-Grilled Salmon. Thanks!"

Jim ordered next, followed by Sebastian. They handed the menus to Tabitha. "Oh, before I forget, tonight we have karaoke starting at 6:30 upstairs," mentioned the server.

Heather got a big grin on her face and Sebastian sighed. Heather loved karaoke and always dragged him into it. "Bashie, you know what we're doing after dinner! KARAOKE!"

"Kitten, no! Not karaoke. You know I hate it. Please! Anything, but karaoke! Anything," groaned Sebastian.

"Yes, Bash, karaoke. You have a great voice. I love hearing you sing. I'll help you pick out your songs if you want. Please! For me! For your sweet, innocent, baby kitten," Heather whined and shot him the fluttery eyes look she knew he couldn't resist. The look she had perfected on so many guys over the years. The look that she knew could open any door, especially when combined with the wobbly chin and the pouty lip.

"Sebastian, I never knew you could sing. You never sing around the flat. I would love to hear you up on stage. You have to do it. You wouldn't turn down the request of your boss and a beautiful woman, now would you," needled Jim.

Sebastian rolled his eyes, but saw that he was trapped. "Ok, ok. I'll do it. One song. With you Heather. No solos. I'm going to need more alcohol."

"Of course, I'll buy you all of the drinks you want. Thanks, Bashie! I can't wait! This is going to be so great! Jim, how about you? What song do you want to sing? If you're not sure, I'll help you pick one out."

It was Sebastian's turn to get back at his boss and he took full advantage. "Yeah, Jim, you have to sing. Heather's really good at picking out just the right song for people. What do you think he should sing Heather?" Sebastian had a full shit-eating grin on his face and was enjoying every moment of this tasty morsel of a moment.

Tabitha arrived with the drinks just at that moment. "Bash, did you want to order something more to drink," asked Heather.

Sebastian smirked and said, "No, on second thought, I'm good with what I have here. Could I also get a glass of water? Thanks." The thought of hearing and seeing Jim sing was going to be intoxicating enough for the blonde. He covertly checked that his phone battery was still charged enough to record the upcoming show. The gauge read 75%. "More than enough. Perfect," he thought.


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's note: I realized after I posted the last chapter that I forgot to thank the usual suspects as I normally do and absolutely should. So, a double thank you to ACD, BBC, Mofitiss, et al. I apologize for the oversight. Credit for all that is good and pure in the world of course goes to them. Except for credit for Andrew Scott. All credit for his existence is split between God and Satan. It's good to see those two enemies coming together to create something so perfect. Like Biggie and Tupac, but with a better smile and ass. Special thank you goes out to President Donald Trump. By being elected el Presidente of my country, you sir have given scores of complete and utter morons with single digit IQs solid proof that in this great and proud country even they can be elected president. Hell, you did and every day that passes, you show definitive proof that** your **IQ is in the negatives. A hearty thank you from our next president, President Applesauce in a jar.**

Chapter 13

"So, Jim, what kind of song do you want to sing? Something slow or fast? Classic rock? Country? Metal? What's your favorite song?" Heather looked at him expectedly.

"Let me see what they have. I assume they have a catalog of something, right."

"Yeah, probably. This is so exciting. I can't wait to hear you sing, honey. I bet you sound great." Heather was beaming at him. Jim knew better. His mother had sent him for singing lessons when he was a boy. After the first lesson, his teacher sent him home with a note suggesting that the family's money could be better spent on a different kind of lesson for the tyke. Jim's parents never let him forget this failing, just as they never let him forget his imperfections, especially when they had been drinking. "Oh, well, I shut them up finally. Poisoning has a funny way of silencing people. Some people just can't hold their arsenic," Jim thought to himself.

Sebastian knew about this little weakness and was so looking forward to later in the night. "Heather, what do you want to sing?"

"Well, I was thinking for our duo, we could either do 'Don't Go Breaking My Heart' or 'Anything You Can Do' from 'Annie Get Your Gun.' What do you think? I feel like too many people do the first one, but I'm pretty open."

"What about Tale Old as Time from 'Beauty and the Beast?' I know you love both the movie and that song."

"Oh, Bash, seriously? I always suggest that one, but you always say no because of how high the male vocal part is. You would do it with me tonight? Oh, you are the BEST! Okay, let's do that one!" Heather burst into a face-splitting grin and had tears in her eyes. She grabbed his hands and squeezed them tight. "Honey, this means so much to me. You are so awesome! I love you!" Turning towards Jim, "Beauty and the Beast is my favorite Disney movie ever! Like when I was a little girl, I used to pretend that I was Belle and I would dance around the living room like in the ballroom scene in the movie. The one with that gorgeous yellow ball gown. My sisters used to make fun of me, but I didn't care. That scene is so magical. It's when Belle and the Beast realize that they love each other, and Mrs. Potts sings that amazing song and they dance and at the end they go out the balcony and oh my gosh, it's so awesome! Bashie, you are the best ever! I'm so excited. This is going to be so great! I can't wait. I want to skip eating and go do it right now."

"No, Kitten, we need to eat first. We'll have plenty of time after we eat," Jim said as he pried her hands out of Sebastian's grip. He wrapped his right arm around her shoulders and pulled her into him, while shooting Moran a murderous look. "I love that movie too. I heard they're doing a live action version of it with that girl who was in the Harry Potter movies."

"Yeah, Emma Watson. I just heard about that. I'm really excited about that too. She's an amazing actress and I'm sure she'll do a great job as Belle. I loved the Potter movies. I liked the books better, but that's usually how it works. The books are almost always better than the movies. What did you think about the Harry Potter movies? Did you watch the movies or read the books?"

"I haven't had a chance to do either, but now that you recommend them, I'll make sure I do."

"Oh, you have to. I own all of the movies on Blu-ray. Maybe one night, we can have a movie marathon. I think the total running time of all 8 movies is around 19 hours or so. We can an all-nighter! When the last one came out, I went to the theatre with a few friends. They showed all 8 movies back to back. There was a 15-minute break in between each one. We were so tired by the end, but it was a blast! They had trivia and merchandise giveaways. I won a replica of Lucius's wand. It's at my office. I won it by answering by being the only person who knew all of the Weasley children's' birthdays. Yeah, I'm a dork, but the wand is freaking awesome. It looks like a pimp cane, okay," Heather threw her hands up in self-defense. "Oh, here comes the appetizer."

Tabitha set the huge plate down in the center of the table. "Here you guys go. Anything else I can get you right now?"

Jim ordered another scotch and soda. He knew he was going to need some liquid courage to survive the evening. Everyone else deferred.

"Heather, Sebastian said that you were working on a blood substitute for trauma patients. Tell me more about that," requested Jim.

"Well, it's not really a substitute for blood. The patients will need actual blood, but it more like a product that we can use out in the field that will hopefully extend what's called 'The Golden Hour.' Are you familiar with what that is?" Jim shook his head. Heather then explained what it was and the importance of receiving advanced and preferably definitive care during that time, particularly in trauma patients. She then went on to explain her research and her findings. Jim was impressed with not only teaching method, but also the ingenuity she showed when she encountered the failures and limitations. She had explained that the concept was not new, but progress was slow and fraught with failures. The method she was using had first been developed during the Vietnam Conflict, but she was looking to change the chemical structure of the substance being used. He found himself getting a bit turned on by how smart his new girlfriend was. "I'm sorry guys. Y'all are probably bored out of your minds listening to me prattle on about this. It's just really exciting stuff for me. If we can just figure this out, it will completely revolutionize trauma care and save so many lives. Oh, I think our food's up."

The waitress placed the order down in front of the respective diner. "Anything I can get you right now," she asked.

"Guys, anything you need? Nope? Okay, I think we're good. Thanks," responded Heather. "I'm starving. Bash, that steak looks amazing. Jim, that looks to die for. I'm jealous."

The trio tucked into their dinners and they were quickly devoured. "Heather, thank you so much for the suggestion. This was excellent." Jim gave Heather a big kiss. "I'm so glad you liked it Jim. Does anyone want dessert? I'm stuffed, but don't let that stop you two," asked Heather.

"No, I'm good. What about you Sebastian? Dessert?" queried the dark-haired man.

"Nope, let's get upstairs and do some singing. What do you say, Jim? You ready," challenged Sebastian with a gleam in his eye.

"Bring it, Moran!"

"Okay, well let me pay the bill and then we can head up. I'm happy you guys are so eager. Neither of you sounded that enthusiastic before. I'm glad you changed your minds." Heather glanced back and forth at the two men.

She saw Tabitha and gestured her over. "I think we are all ready to pay the bill and head upstairs for some karaoke. Here's my card."

"Heather, I'll pay. You paid for everything else today. Put your card away. It's the least I can do." Jim had his gold card out and in the waitress's hand in a flash.

"Oh, thanks, honey. That's sweet of you. Actually, if you guys will excuse me. I'm going to powder my nose quick. I'll be right back."

Jim slid out of the booth and let Heather pass. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her in for a deep, soulful kiss. "Don't be gone for too long. I'll start to miss you," he cooed at her. Heather just blushed and rolled her eyes. "Oh, you!"

As soon as Heather was out of earshot, he turned his head and dark, keen eyes to Sebastian. "I don't know what you are trying to pull, Moran, but you are walking a very thin line. Watch yourself! You may be highly skilled, but you are not irreplaceable. You would do well to remember that," hissed Jim.

"Jim, I realized something on our walk back from the car. Do you want to know what I realized?"

"What is that?"

"I own you now."

"WHAT," sputtered Jim. "How do you figure that?"

"As Heather's best friend, I own you. You may have her heart, but I have her ear. She listens to me. She trusts me completely. Implicitly! Hell, with a couple words last night, I convinced her to interview for a job that she didn't even really want. Now, she's seriously considering leaving everything behind to move to take a part-time job. Her research, her house, her entire life, her husband's grave site, everything. Why? Because I encouraged her to. That's power. Now, I would never use that power to hurt her, but if I must, I will use it to hurt you. I suggest you don't put me in a position where I feel it is necessary to do that to protect her or myself. Now, yes, you can have me killed. There are a lot of people who would suck your dick for that job and pay you a pretty price for the privilege, but what would Heather think if I suddenly disappeared? She would be heartbroken. She would never be the same again. I wager she would break up with you because she will always link the two of us in her mind. What are you going to do? Kill her? I somehow don't think so. Yeah, I could be wrong, but I seriously doubt it. So, like I said, I own you Jimmy. Now smile. Heather's coming back, and we don't want to upset her, now do we?"

Tabitha and Heather reached the table at the same time. Tabitha handed Jim his card and receipt. He signed it, adding a very healthy tip. Heather reached out to help Sebastian stand up. "Ugh, Bash, you weigh a ton. Getting fat isn't going to land you any ladies," she teased her friend.

Jim stood up. Heather reached her hand out to take his, but he didn't immediately take it. "Jim, you okay? Did you stand up too fast?"

"No, love. I'm good. I'm good." He reached out and grabbed her hand. "Let's head upstairs. I can't wait to hear my beautiful songbird live in concert." He smiled at her and started to lead her to the elevator.

"Flattery will get you everywhere, my dear."

The threesome reached the second floor and walked out of the lift. The upstairs lounge wasn't very crowded. They claimed a table and then Sebastian and Heather walked over to the employee in charge of karaoke. They looked through the catalog and saw that the song was available. They signed up for it. "Bash, send Jim over here so I can help him pick something out." Heather flipped a few pages and picked out two songs that she wanted to do as solos. Jim arrived and together they found a simple tune for him to perform. They returned to the table and sat down. The singer on stage finished a moment later. They applauded. She was clearly rather intoxicated, but had given it all she had. Heather had to appreciate the gusto, if not the screeched high notes. "Most people should really just leave Mariah Carey's music to Mariah Carey." She thought to herself. "I hate her, but the woman does have a seven-octave range for God's sake. Very few other people do, and it shows."

The makeshift M.C. called Sebastian and Heather's names and announced their song. "You ready, big guy? You are going to be great. The words come up on the screen and if you get nervous, just look at me and I'll get you through!" They walked up to the stage.

"Tale as old as time/True as it can be/Barely even friends/Then somebody bends/Unexpectedly." Heather's voice rang out true and loud. Her face filled with dream-like wonder.

"Just a little change/Small to say the least/Both a little scared/Neither one prepared/Beauty and the Beast." Sebastian started off a little low, but quickly adjusted to the right notes. He had heard it from Heather enough times to know the song by heart. A man in love knew his beloved's favorite song as if it was his own.

They started singing the song facing each other, but by the end, Heather had found Jim and had eyes only for him. She sang it directly to him as if they were the only two in the room. What she didn't see was Sebastian's staring at her like _they_ were the only two in the world. When the song finished, she turned to him and gave him a big hug and thanked him for the song. She wiped tears from her eyes and started to rejoin Jim, but then remembered she had signed up to do two solos in a row. She stepped back up on stage and before the employee could announce her next song, she spoke into the mic. "I'm going to do two more songs. I hope you don't mind. The first song I want to dedicate to a very special guy in the audience. Jim, this is for you. I hope you like it." She motioned to the employee to start the music.

"I've been a walking heartache/I've made a mess of me/The person that I've been lately/Ain't who I wanna be/But you stay here right beside me/Watch as the storm goes through/And I need you/Cause God gave me you for the ups and downs/God gave me you for the days of doubt/For when I think I've lost my way/There are no words here left to say, it's true/God gave me you, gave me you …"

Heather's voice poured out over the entire second floor. Jim felt a stir of emotions in his heart. "This amazing creature thinks that I'm her gift from God? She's wrong. She's mine," he thought to himself. "Just when I was certain that God didn't exist, he drops this woman in my life. I don't deserve her."

By the end of the song, a small crowd had developed around the lounge. As Heather opened her eyes and sang the last note, wild applause broke out. Heather blushed furiously and touched her hand to her lips. She didn't realize just how many people were watching and she immediately felt very self-conscious. She looked at Jim for reassurance and he stared back at her in amazement. She looked over at Bash with tears in her eyes and he stood up clapping furiously. Everyone started standing up and the cheers grew louder. Heather felt very overwhelmed and left the stage, running to Jim. "Jim, everyone is staring at me! What do I do?"

"You kiss me, you amazing woman. You let me hold you and you kiss me. Then you never leave my arms!"

The M.C. came over after a moment and asked her if she still wanted to do her second song. "You're very popular and you did sign up for two, miss. Do you want to go ahead and do it now?"

"Okay. Just give me a minute." Heather walked back up to the stage for a third time. "Thank you so much everyone. For my next and last song, I'm going to do an old James Taylor song. I was actually really surprised they had it. It's probably my favorite J.T. song. I hope you guys like it too."

Five minutes later, as the song faded out. The lounge again erupted in cheers. Heather blushed and ducked her head. "Thanks, everyone. Now I'll sit down and stop hogging the stage."

She sat down, and the M.C. called out Jim's name. "Oh, yeah, I forgot we signed you up to go right after me. Are you ready? You can do this, honey. I believe in you. Just remember the words will appear on the monitor and light up as you sing them. Knock em dead, baby!"

Jim sighed and walked up to the stage. "Ok. That is a very hard act to follow, so don't expect much, but here goes. My girlfriend, who you just saw, helped me pick this out. Baby, I hope I make you proud."

"Whenever life gets you down, Mrs. Brown, and things seem hard or tough and people are stupid, obnoxious, or daft/And you feel like you have had quite enough/Just remember that you're standing on a planet that's evolving/And revolving at 900 miles an hour/It's orbiting at 19 miles a second, so it's reckoned/The sun that is the source of all our power/Now the sun, and you and me, and all the stars that we can see/Are moving at a million miles a day/In the outer spiral arm, at 40,000 miles an hour/Of a galaxy we call the Milky Way/ Our galaxy itself contains a hundred billion stars/It's a hundred thousand light years side to side/It bulges in the middle sixteen thousand light years thick/But out by us it's just three thousand light years wide/We're thirty thousand light years from Galactic Central Point/We go round every two hundred million years/And our galaxy itself is one of millions of billions/In this amazing and expanding universe/Our universe itself keeps on expanding and expanding/In all of the directions it can whiz/As fast as it can go, at the speed of light, you know/Twelve million miles a minute and that's the fastest speed there is/So remember, when you're feeling very small and insecure/How amazingly unlikely is your birth/And pray that there's intelligent somewhere out in space/Cause there's bugger all down here on Earth!"

Heather jumped from her seat and started clapping as loud as she could. She rushed to the stage and enveloped Jim in a hug. "Jim, that was awesome! You sounded amazing! I love that song. How did that feel? Great, right?" Heather's face was lit up like a Christmas tree.

"Um, it felt okay. I really sounded okay?"

"You sounded perfect! I'm so proud of you. I knew you would hit it outta the park! Bash, what did you think? Great, right?"

Sebastian thought his boss sounded a little flat to be honest, but he knew that he wasn't going to convince Heather of anything less than Jim's perfection. "Yeah, that was certainly something. I don't think I've ever heard Monty Python done quite that way."

"Let's go sit down and let someone else go. Oh, Jim. You rocked!"

Sebastian sat and watched his friend cuddle up and coo over his boss. Clearly his plan to embarrass Jim had not worked. "Damn! Okay, think Moran. New plan, new plan. What do I do now?" He sat and pouted for a moment. "I'm going to get a beer. Does anyone want anything?"

"No thanks, hun. Jim, do you want anything?"

"Yeah, I'm not sure what I want. I'll go with Seb and see what they have on tap. Will you be okay if we leave you alone for a couple of minutes?"

"Yep. You know what, get me a Coke, please sweetie. Thanks!"

"You got it, Kitten."

Sebastian and Jim walked downstairs. "So, Sebastian, still think you own me? I don't think you do so much right now. Maybe you should reassess your plan. Cause I figured out why you were so insistent in getting me to sing. You thought I would embarrass myself. Fortunately, Heather helped me pick a song that was basically a chant. Don't worry. I don't think she sees what you are trying to do, but I do. I'm on to you now. Little tip, Sebby, never reveal your hand until after the game is over. You will pay for this little power play. Just wait! Karma is a bitch and so am I."

"Understood, sir."

"That's a good, little puppy! Now I believe I'll have a Coke and a scotch and soda. And you will have water. First part of your punishment is no more alcohol for the remainder of this trip. Hmmm … and no more cigarettes. Yes, that is a good start. There'll be more, but this will do to start."

The tall blonde nodded his head and placed the order at the bar. Jim paid for the order and carried Heather's soda and his scotch and soda upstairs. Upon arrival to the table, Jim placed the drinks down. "Here my love. One Coke. Did I miss anything?"

"Nope. Just more warbling from the lady who went before me. More Mariah Carey. It was mildly painful."

Sebastian had made a side trip to the M.C. He returned to the table and placed his water down. He then got called to the stage. "Jim, I thought Bash was getting a beer. That looks and smells like water. He does know it missing some parts, right? Like the hops, the caramel coloring, the alcohol, just three things I can think of off the top of my mind."

"He decided not to get a beer because he wants to be sober enough to drive tonight."

"Oh, that's why I ordered a Coke. I was going to let you two kick back and enjoy yourselves. It's fine. I don't mind being the designated driver."

"No, he insisted. Said he was happy to drive tonight."

From the stage, Heather heard the opening strains of a familiar song. She cocked her head towards the stage and listened carefully. "This goes out to my best friend Heather. Heather, I'm so glad that you and Jim found each other. You deserve one another."

For the next three minutes and twelve seconds, Sebastian poured his heart out on stage. To everyone in the lounge except for one, it was painfully obvious that this was a man at the depths of profound lovesickness; a man who was singing his swan song, releasing his final hold on the woman he loved so she could be loved by another. But all the painfully thick redhead heard was her best friend singing another one of her favorite songs. While everyone else blinked back the tears in their eyes, Heather just smiled and enjoyed her friend's voice. For a woman with a genius IQ, she sure was a dumbass. Even Jim felt a twinge of pity for a second towards the man. Sebastian finished the song and sat down at the table.

"Basher, that was beautiful. Thank you so much. Don't worry. I know the right girl is out there for you. You're an amazing catch. Any lady would be lucky to have you."

After a moment, Heather suggested they leave the lounge and go play some games. They exited the seating area and walked over to the arcade. "Jim, have you ever played Skee-ball?" Heather asked.

"No, how do you play?"

"Oh, it's easy. I'll show you." She taught Jim how to play and Jim was surprisingly a natural at it. The trio played for an hour and then counted all their tickets. All combined, they had 400 tickets. They voted 2:1 to give them to a little kid. Jim pouted, but Heather promised she would make it up to him later.

"Is there anything else you guys want to do while we are here? I'm starting to get tired." Heather yawned.

The two men looked at each other. "Sebastian, what do you say we get our sleepy princess home?"

"Sounds like a plan to me."

Jim put his arm around her and pulled her tight. "C'mon on Sleepy Head. Let's get back to the carriage before it turns into a pumpkin. Sebastian, lead the way please."

The threesome exited the restaurant and walked back to the car. Sebastian held the door open as Jim helped Heather into the car and fastened her seat belt. "Jim, sit back here with me."

"Was planning on it, love. I just wanted to get you situated first." Sebastian shut the door and started to walk around the car to get the door for Jim. Jim stopped him, "I've got it. Thanks, Seb." Sebastian nodded. Jim walked around the car and got in next to Heather. He put his seat belt on. She undid her belt and shifted over to the middle seat and snuggled against him. "Baby, let's get your seat belt back on." He fastened the middle belt across her and gently pulled her back to her previous position. She wrapped her right arm across his chest and nuzzled against him. Normally this would have made Jim feel a bit cramped, but with Heather, it felt right. He laughed to himself, "It's amazing how much has changed in less than a day's time. I was ready to kill this woman not even 24 hours ago, now I want to spend my life with her. Me, Jim Moriarty, Mr. Ice in His Veins, in love with this amazing little creature. Maybe I should rethink some other life decisions. What else have I been wrong about?" He stared out the window and pondered life. A few minutes later, he felt Heather's hand slip from his side to his hip. He looked down and her eyes were closed, and her breathing had slowed down. Poor thing really had been tired. He wondered how long she had been tired and was just faking being wide awake for his benefit. He whispered into her hair, "You never have to be fake with me, princess. Anything you need just tell me and it's yours. I promise. Always." He kissed the top of her head and relaxed back into the seat, closing his eyes. "This moment feels so perfect. Just me and my angel," he murmured to himself.

"What's that, boss?" Sebastian yelled from the front.

"Ssshhh, Sebastian! She's sleeping," hissed Jim.

"Sorry, boss!"

"Did you say something, Jim," Heather murmured sleepily.

"No, baby. It's okay. Just go back to sleep. Everything's okay."

"I'm sorry, baby. Did I fall asleep? I'm sorry, Jim. Did you need something?"

"No, love. Just close your eyes. Everything is fine. Do you want me to sing to you?"

"Okay," exhaled Heather as she drifted back to sleep.

"On Raglan Road on an Autumn day/I saw her first and knew /that her dark hair would weave a snare/ that I may one day rue …"

Sebastian joined along with the old Irish folk song, singing softly to himself. The two men serenaded the sleeping woman. After the song was over, the car fell silent. They arrived at Heather's home 20 minutes later. Sebastian opened the security gate. He was the only other person with access to the security system. Heather didn't give her parents or sisters the security clearance. The car pulled alongside the house and parked. Sebastian exited the vehicle and opened Jim's door. Jim rubbed Heather's arm gently. "Kitten, we're home. Can you wake up for me? Let's get inside, okay? Wake up for me, angel." Heather stirred and looked at Jim sleepily. "Kitten, we're home now. Let's go inside."

"Okay, baby. I'll be right there." Heather laid her head back down and closed her eyes. Jim chuckled softly, "Heather, wake up baby. Let me help you inside. C'mon."

Heather opened her eyes and smiled weakly. Jim undid her seatbelt and started to slide the two of them out as a single unit. Heather frowned. She blinked a few times and gave Jim a gentle push. "I've got it. I'll be right behind you." Jim climbed out, now noticing a wet spot on his chest. Heather reached up and lazily wiped a bit of drool off her cheek. "Sorry. I think I drooled on you a little."

"It's okay. Here, give me your hand. C'mon, let's get inside, beautiful."

Jim wrapped his arm around her shoulders and guided her to the front door. He helped her over to the couch and propped her up against some cushions on one side. Sebastian closed and locked the door.

"Do you guys want to watch a movie? I'm going to change into my jammies. You guys pick one out and I'll be back in a minute."

Heather went upstairs, brushed her teeth quickly, brushed her hair, and reapplied some lipstick. She picked a black silk pajama set that was low-key sexy, but didn't look like she was trying too hard. She grabbed her leopard prints slippers and threw them on as she descended the stairs. "Did you find something we could watch? What do you guys want to eat? Popcorn, lots of butter? I have some chocolate chip cookies too." Heather walked into the kitchen and made the popcorn. She poured it into a big bowl and poured too much melted butter on top. She grabbed the cookies out of the freezer, turned the oven on, and laid them out on a cookie sheet. Jim came out into the kitchen. "You look nice. Do you need any help?" He grazed her behind with the tip of his forefinger. "We could just skip the movie. I can think of a main feature playing in your bedroom that I like to see."

"That will come later, I promise. Right now, I want to watch a movie with my guys. What did you guys pick out?"

"I picked Die Hard. Sebastian suggested "The Princess Bride. Told me to trust him. I've never seen it. Is it any good?"

"Jim, The Princess Bride is the best movie ever! It has everything! Sword fights, true love, pirates, danger, princesses, everything! I have yet to meet a person who does not love The Princess Bride. In fact, if I did meet such a person, I couldn't accept that they were in fact human. They would have to be a soulless automaton. Everyone loves The Princess Bride. It is literally impossible not to love that movie. It is. It is a proven scientific fact. You can NOT not love this movie! Science supports this fact."

Post chapter notes: 1. Live Action Beauty and The Beast movie with Emma Watson was awesome.

2\. Actual running time of all 8 HP films is 19 hours and 38 minutes. I did what Heather described in the story. I was exhausted by the end, but it was the best $30 I ever spent.

3\. Lots of music in this chapter. Here are the titles and artists in order if they weren't specifically named in the story.

"God Gave Me You" by Blake Shelton

"Copperline" by James Taylor

"The Galaxy Song" by Monty Python

"You Look So Good in Love" by George Strait

"On Raglan Road" by Van Morrison. Andrew Scott sings an amazing version in the movie "The Stag." Look it up on YouTube. Beautiful voice. Awesome Movie

4\. All of these songs are off my Favorites list on YouTube. I share them with you because each one is fantastic in its own way and each one has made an impact on my life and/or played an important part of my life. Some made me laugh. Some made cry. Some helped me through a rough patch somehow, sometimes more than one rough patch. Listen. Enjoy.


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's note: Thank you to BBC, ACD, Mofitiss, et. al. Special thank you to EviColt for the giggle you gave me with your review of my author's note. Sorry if I offended any one. I had the news on when I wrote the AN for last chapter. I promise no more politics. (I know you weren't offended Evi, but I might have offended someone else.) A shout out to Sofiaramendez. Thank you for the review. You said that you are "getting 2** **nd** **thoughts about the whole Jim and Heather thing." Ok. Can you explain a little more about what you mean? Do you not like the pairing? Am I making Jim too much something (soft, crazy, etc.)? Would you prefer to see Heather and Sebby together? What are "getting 2** **nd** **thoughts about?" I'm interested in your feedback. I know where I want this story to go, but I'm open to suggestions. I can promise that Sebastian's life will be getting better soon. I know that he's having a rough patch now, but I promise it will be better for him soon.**

Chapter 14

Heather pulled the cookies out of the oven. She plated them and brought them and a stack of napkins out into the living room. "Bash, did you get the movie set up to go? Jim, you are going to love this movie! Like I said, it's one of absolute favorites. It really does have something for everyone." She sat down on the couch between the two men and placed the cookies on the table. She leaned against Jim and he wrapped his arm around her.

Sebastian pressed play on the remote and settled back against the back of the soft sofa. He glanced over at his boss and best friend. His heart stung a little, but he knew that that ship had sailed, and he needed to adjust to the new reality he was facing. "They're not really a bad-looking couple. Maybe she can make him a little more level-headed and less likely to fly off the handle so much. And Lord knows Jim won't tolerate the way her family treats her, so _that_ problem will be solved one way or the other. Maybe this really will be okay. She'll still be in my life. Especially if she does move to London. We can still go shooting and drinking and everything else we do together, just more often. Yeah, this _could_ work out. Who should I put on her security detail? Phillips might work. He's pretty sarcastic, like her. Hmm … what about O'Shanahan? She's new, but so far, I'm hearing good things. Definitely not Patterson. She would rip his throat out in the first 20 minutes guaranteed. I'll have to talk to Jim about it later. God, she looks so happy. I guess that's the important thing, right?" Sebastian was so caught up in his own thoughts that he missed the fact that Heather had asked him to pass her a coaster twice already.

"Sebastian Augustus Moran, are you ignoring me? Hello! Are you in there? Bashie!"

"Oh, sorry! I was caught up in the movie, Kitten." Sebastian blushed. "What did you need, sweetie?"

"Can you please pass me a coaster for my drink?" Heather looked him with a questioning stare. "Are you sure you're okay? You've been a bit off today. You aren't getting sick, are you?" She placed her hand on his forehead. "You don't feel hot." She grabbed his wrist. "Your pulse is steady. A little fast. Do you want to go to bed? I know you haven't gotten much sleep in the past 24 hours. I think it might be catching up with you." Heather looked genuinely concerned about her friend's condition. "Plus, you have had a fair bit of alcohol and you're not 18 anymore."

"No. I'm good, sweetie. Here's your coaster. Sorry. I would never ignore you."

"Ok, honey. You know I worry about you." Heather's phone started to ring. "Hang on guys. Let me grab that." Heather reached over and answered the phone. "Hey Kate! What's up! Can you hold on a minute?" Heather put the phone down. "Hey, can we stop the movie for a minute. My friend Kate's on the phone and we've been playing phone tag for a few days. I should only be a couple minutes." Sebastian stopped the movie and Heather got up and walked into the kitchen. "Hey, thanks for holding on. What's up?"

"Hey Jim, I was thinking?"

"I thought I smelled smoke."

"Yeah, funny! Anyway, I was thinking. Were you going to assign a security detail to Heather while she's in London? I know that you're going to try to spend some time with her while she's there, but what about when she's at the hospital and if she wants to go out to shop or whatever? Do you want me to cover her or someone else? I was thinking maybe Phillips or O'Shanahan."

Hmm … Phillips would be okay. Do you think O'Shanahan's ready? She's still pretty new and Heather's important. I think I would Mitz over O'Shanahan. Oh, that reminds me. When we get back, fire Patterson. I've become tired of how close he cuts things. Amuse me with how you do it. Have Mitz and Phillips on Heather. When she gets to town, have them at the apartment so she can meet them when she gets there. If she likes them, then they're fine. If she doesn't like them, we'll make different arrangements then." Jim thought for a moment. "How secure is she here? The house and property? The hospital? Other places she frequents? Do we need people here?"

"Well, I feel like the house and property are good. You heard her. She refuses to have guards here, so that is a big disadvantage."

"Let me talk to her about that. I think I can change her mind. I want her protected. Especially since she lives alone. These cats don't do squat for safety. Does she like dogs?"

"Yeah, she loves dogs. She had mentioned thinking about getting one a few months ago. I think she was thinking of something small, though. She used to a Schipperke named Rommel, but he died a few years ago. That was before she got the cats, though. She loved that thing. It hated me. Little ankle biter. Way too possessive of her. Was actually a good guard dog that way. Nobody could get close to her, even if she wanted them to without that dog attacking them. It got cancer and she had to put it down. She was devastated. She got Calypso a few months later. Said she missed having a pet. I know both of her parents each have pit bulls. She loves both of them. She grew up mostly with little dogs and cats. Oh, but she did have a half whippet half greyhound when she was a little girl that she really liked. I think it got sick and died though. I think she was in 2nd or 3rd grade."

"Perfect. Let's get her to get a dog. Something big and smart. Pit bull, Rottweiler, German Sheppard, whatever. How is the security at the hospital?"

"Typical hospital security. Not great, but again Jim, she absolutely will not allow personal security. Trust me her dad and I have tried. It's the only thing the old fucker and I agree on. She gets pretty pissed and shuts down when I mention it. She tolerated it in Afghanistan because of the environment, but she won't here. She doesn't see the need."

"I'll talk her into it. Or, failing that, just put some people on her and she just won't know. I _will_ have her protected whether she likes it or not."

Sebastian just raised his eyebrow. "This is going to be a nightmare," he thought to himself.

"Where else does she go where she'll need security?"

"She has violin lessons on Friday evenings at a local music store. She usually goes grocery shopping on Friday mornings too. She teaches a class on Tuesday and Thursday mornings at the medical school. Security is fairly good there. Could always be better, but it's not too bad. This semester, she is also teaching one class at the nursing school connected to the medical school. Tuesday afternoons. 1 pm to 3 pm, I think."

"What about church? Does she go to church on Sundays?"

Sebastian laughed a bit, "Yeah, church every Sunday morning without fail. Service starts at 10:30, runs until noon. It's a church, so no real security to speak of outside of the Lord, so … pretty wide open to anyone and everyone."

"Ok, well, this will give you something to do tomorrow night while she and I are out. Coordinate full security for her. I will talk her into personal security tomorrow. I want this to start ASAP. This is top priority, Sebastian! Everything else comes second. Do I make myself clear? She will be kept safe! You can start by getting cameras in place. Standard package. Here, her office, her car, all the usual. Eyes on her at all times."

They heard her laughing in the kitchen. "She is my most valuable asset now, Moran. Her safety is everyone's top priority."

"Understood, sir. Her safety has always been high on my priority list since I met her just, so you know."

Jim sighed, "I'm sure it has, Sebastian" He paused for a moment. "Listen, how are you? I imagine that today has not been especially easy for you so as your friend, not as your boss, but as your friend, I'm asking, how are you?"

Sebastian studied Jim for a moment. "It has been … challenging, sir. I would be lying if I said that today ranks in my top 100 days, but … Heather seems … happy and she deserves to be happy. She's gone through a lot in life. A lot of emotional trauma and she's really good at hiding the effects, but I know that … behind that perma-smile, she has a lot of pain. All that I ask is that … I don't know … I guess all I can ask is that you understand that. She tries so hard to make everyone else happy and comfortable and good that a lot of the time, she doesn't leave anything for herself. Make sure that she doesn't give up some much to everyone else, that she's left empty. When you get tired of her, let her down softly. Remember that she might look like indestructible, but her heart is more delicate than fine crystal and every time it gets broken, she builds another tall fence around it."

Heather walked back into the living room with the phone pressed to her chest. "Bash, do you remember my friend Kate? About 5'10, medium brown hair, green eyes, SICU nurse, British? Ringing any bells?"

"Yeah, a little. Why?"

"Um, how would you feel if she came over and hung out with you tomorrow night? I kind of feel bad that I'm abandoning you to go out with Jim and she's available to hang tomorrow. Would that be cool? She's offered to help me get ready, so she'll be here anyway. You guys can have the lasagna." Heather whispered, "She's single and she kind of has a thing for you, but I _did not_ tell you that."

Sebastian grinned, "Um, yeah. That sounds cool. Sure, we can hang." Heather held her fist out to silently fist bump him. She flashed him a grin and a thumbs up.

"Yeah, Bash said he's down to hang. Thanks so much for offering to come over and keep him company. I feel awful that I'm totally bailing on him. See you around 5?" Heather flashed another thumbs up to her friend. "Ok, cool. See ya tomorrow." She hung the phone up and placed it on the coffee table. "Bashie, you are so getting laid tomorrow! Oh, Jim, our little boy growing up so fast! He's going to get some. Bow-chicka-bow-bow! Bash, just remember, Kate's a lady, so no anal. That has to wait until at least the second date. Ladies have standards!" She loved teasing her friend. Sebastian just blushed. "I'll put the lasagna together tomorrow and if, you remind me, I'll put it in the oven right before we leave. It'll take about an hour to cook, so that should work out perfectly." Heather had an idea. "Unless, you guys want to make it yourself together. Bash, you're a good cook and it's a pretty easy recipe. Which do you prefer?"

"I guess we can make it ourselves. Just write the recipe down for me."

"I'll tab the page in the cookbook for you. Okay, you guys ready to start the movie back up?"

They got settled back on the couch and restarted the movie. Sebastian only half paid attention to the action on the screen, as he thought about his date the next night. He vaguely remembered Kate from meeting her about a year before when he and Heather were at an art gallery opening. She had seemed nice, but he thought she was engaged then. He wondered what had happened there. Heather was busy reciting the dialogue of the movie. She had seen this movie easily 100 times and had long since memorized it. One of the perks of an eidetic memory, not to mention the repeated viewings. When she wasn't reciting dialogue, she was telling Jim all sorts of trivia and behind the scenes information. Sebastian knew that that would normally bug Jim into a fury, but he looked genuinely interested. About a quarter into the movie, she started to slow down with the talking and laid her head in Jim's lap and extended her legs and feet into Sebastian's lap. She was turned on her left side still watching the movie, but Sebastian knew that she wouldn't remain awake for long in that position. Jim reached down and started running his fingers through her hair and rubbing her upper back and neck. She moaned lightly with relief. "That feels great honey. Don't stop."

About 10 minutes later, Sebastian looked over and Heather was fast asleep. He looked over at Jim and whispered, "She's fell asleep already. Do you want to turn the movie off and take her upstairs to bed?"

"Hell, no. She was right. This movie is great. I really like this Count Rugen! I like his way of thinking."

Sebastian just shook his head. "You know that you can't actually do that stuff, right? It's a fantasy movie. There is no machine that will take time off someone's life." Jim didn't answer. "Jim! … Boss! … Jim! It's not real!"

"Yeah, I know, but imagine if it was. Maybe if I …" Jim trailed off. Sebastian just rolled his eyes again. Sebastian turned the tv off. "Hey, I was watching that," cried out Jim.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Boss. I thought you were thinking."

"I was, but I was also watching the movie. I can do both. I'm not a simpleton."

They finished watching the movie. "Well, what do we do with her," asked Sebastian. "We're both pretty much stuck here unless we move her, but that will wake her up."

"Well, let's wake her up. I'll get upstairs to bed and tucked in." Jim started to run his fingers through Heather's hair and call her name. "Heather, wake up. It's time to go to bed." He started to rub her back and shoulder.

She awoke with a snort. "Huh! What's going on?" She looked around confused.

"Hey, love. You feel asleep during the movie. It's over now and I want to take you to bed now. Can you get up? I'll help you if you need it."

"Okay." She replied sleepily. "I need to clean up in here and the kitchen before I go up though." She staggered to her feet and started to grab bowls and plates off the coffee table.

"No, sweetie. Let Sebby and I do this. You need to get some sleep."

"No, it'll just take me a few minutes. I've got it."

"Let us at least help you. Seb, grab some stuff, please."

The three of them managed to clear the coffee table of stuff in one trip. Heather and Jim dumped their drinks in the sink. Sebastian put the leftover cookies in a plastic bag and stored them in a cabinet. Heather put the dirty dishes in the dishwasher and started the load. "Ok, let's head up."

Jim followed Heather up the stairs and into her bedroom. "I have to get ready for bed. Thanks for walking me up here." Heather gave him a kiss. "You wouldn't want to sleep with me tonight, would you? It would just be sleep, but it could be kind of nice."

Jim smiled a slick smile. "Yeah, let me go get ready. I'll be back in a few minutes." He kissed her again and left the room.

Heather felt an instant rush at the thought of Jim being in her bed. She was tired, so it truly would only be sleeping together, but it was still very thrilling. She flossed and brushed her teeth and washed her face. She looked over at her medications. She picked up the bottles and poured out the correct dosage for each one, except for one. "I'm going to skip this tonight. Just in case." She bit her lip. Her psychiatrist wouldn't completely approve, but she figured that he wasn't there, so what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him. "Besides, it's only 1 day without it. I'll be fine." She swallowed the pills down quickly with a mouthful of water. She reapplied her deodorant and added just a tiny splash of perfume to each wrist. She heard Jim entered the bedroom. She turned around and walked out of the bathroom. She met him by the bed and gave him a kiss. He was wearing a black silk t-shirt and black silk pajama pants. He not only looked like sex personified, but he also looked like he knew it. Heather felt a very welcome stir in her lady loins. She could feel her nipples harden and a blush come to her face. "I normally sleep on the right side, so you can sleep on the left. I will warn you I'm a cover hog. Hazard of sleeping alone for so long." She pulled the covers back and crawled in.

"I hate cover hogs. You'll have to work on that or suffer the consequences," he purred as he climbed into the bed.

"Yeah, I'm not going to sleep anytime soon," thought Heather. "What kind of consequences are we talking about here … Mr. Moriarty? Nothing too extreme I hope," wondered Heather.

"Just wait and see, little one. Wait and see. Now time to get some sleep. You are sleepy, right? That _is_ what you said, Dr. Weire."

"Well, now that you mention it, I do have a little bit of energy I could burn before I settle in. Can you think of anything I can do to get fully relaxed for sleep? Maybe some a little aerobic?"

"I do have a few thoughts. But I think you're a bit overdressed for the activities I have in mind." Jim reached over and unbuttoned Heather's shirt.


	15. Chapter 15

Author's note: Thank you usual suspects. You own Sherlock. Not me. This chapter is pure, unadulterated smut. No literary quality what so ever. Okay, now that's out of the way, let's get to the sex!

Chapter 15

He took a hold of her right breast and started to massage the nipple. After a few seconds, he sat up and placed it in his mouth and sucked it taut. Heather moaned with delight. She reached up and ran her fingers through Jim's hair. "Oh, God, Jim." Heather reached to his waist and started to pull his shirt up. He pushed her hand away. "No, first you, my beauty. This is all about you right now." Jim went to work on Heather's left nipple. Heather moaned again.

He picked her upper body up off the bed and slid her shirt off. He laid her back down and kissed her deeply. He slowly worked his way down to her neck, peppering it with kisses. Trailing down onto her clavicle and shoulders, he covered her kisses and little love nips. Again pausing to lavish her breasts with tongue ministrations. Heather felt more alive than she had in many years. Jim began to move south with his mouth. He reached down and roughly pulled down her pants. He kissed her from hip to hip. Trailing his forefinger down to her pubis, he stopped kissing her and stared into her eyes with his. His face had a wicked grin and his eyes were dark pools of desire. He slowly trailed his finger across her slit, gathering a sample of her juices. "So wet for me already? My, my, my. Someone's eager." He stuck the finger in his mouth and sucked it. "Oh, so sweet. My kitten is sugary goodness. Oh, baby girl, the things I'm going to do to you."

"Oh, God Jim. Fuck me Jim! Please! I need you inside right now!"

"Tut, tut! Patience, my love. There's plenty of time for that. I want to see just how many ways I can make you come without my cock first. I promise you it will be … awesome!" He slid his finger back into her pussy and curled it into a gentle hook. He gave a little wiggle and Heather felt herself explode in a very powerful orgasm. "Aw, there's that tricky little g-spot. Does that feel good, baby? Do you like that?"

"JIM, GOD DAMN! YES! YES! YES! OH MY GOD!"

"Who's your daddy?"

"YOU ARE, DADDY! OH, GOD! IT'S TOO MUCH! DON'T STOP! RIGHT THERE! YES, YES YES!" Heather was convulsing, and her eyes were rolled to the back of her head. She had never had such a strong orgasm in her life. It scared and excited her at the same time. She felt completely undone and they had barely started. Jim slowed down his movement and placed two more fingers in her quim. "Oh, you are tight. I'm going to have to work on you a lot to get ready for my cock. I don't want to hurt you … too much." He began slowly pumping in and out, occasionally curling his one finger and stroking her special spot. Heather had two more toe-curling orgasms from just Jim's fingers. Jim pulled out and licked each finger. "Having a good time?"

Heather shot him a dazed grin. She grabbed his shirt and pulled him down and into a passionate kiss. She could taste herself on his tongue. "Jim, please let me return the favor. I want to suck your dick. Please! You have made me so delirious. Let me do something for you!"

"Well, I can't turn down a request from such a pretty lady. Do you wish to do the honors or shall I?

Heather ripped his pants off. He wasn't wearing any underwear and already had a bead of pre-cum glistening from the top of his quite impressive cock. Heather bit her lip. She rubbed her forefinger across the tip and collected the drop of liquid. She seductively licked her finger while staring in Jim's obsidian eyes. "You don't taste half-bad yourself, Mr. Moriarty." She pushed him onto his back on the bed. She climbed astride him and bent down. She positioned her head so she could still maintain eye contact with him while she set to work. She reached down and wrapped her hand around the base of his missile. She gave it a firm, broad lick with the tip of her tongue from base to tip. Jim remained silent, but did open his hips just a bit. She traced the head with her tongue while staring Jim down. Their eyes locked during this and he looked duly impressed. She spent the next 15 or so seconds working her way down the shaft, gradually taking in more as she slid down. She worked hard to relax her throat as she progressed. Finally, she took his entire length in her mouth and began to work the base with her tongue while gently massaging Jim's sack. Jim moaned out her name involuntarily. Heather smiled to herself. Remembering to cover her teeth with her lips, she slowly worked her way up and down the shaft. Periodically, she would pull him completely out of her mouth and trace the large vein on the back with the thin tip of her tongue. The change in sensation drove Jim nuts. She alternated patterns and techniques enough that Jim was never sure what would come next. Jim was torn between cumming in her mouth and pulling her off of him and slamming into her tight slit. They hadn't talked about it and he didn't want to offend her by forcing her to swallow. "Women are so picky about that shit," he thought to himself. Her next move made the decision for him. Right as she applied the pressure, he came without warning. The room went dark for a second or two and then he saw stars and felt a little dizzy. But what he mostly felt was intense pleasure and relaxation. "Damn, where the fuck did she learn that," he wondered. "Even the prostitutes haven't been able to get me there like that."

She sat up and wiped the corners of her mouth. "So, how was that, sir," she asked with a cat-like grin. "Have a good time?"

"You are a very naughty little girl. Where did you learn that little move? That one at the end. I'm willing to bet they don't teach that in medical school," he asked incredulously.

"Well, actually, funny story!" She laughed. "You're right they don't exactly teach it in med school, but what they do teach is some urological know-how that I used to develop that trick. It took a little trial and error before I had it down pat, but I have yet to get any complaints since I mastered it. I take it you approve?" Heather smiled confidently.

"Oh, very much. You will definitely be doing that again. Frequently."

"So, the dizziness has resolved? That's the only downside to it."

"I need another minute to recover, but then you will receive a very well-earned reward, Miss. Come here." He took his shirt off and pulled her down for a kiss. He flipped them over, so he was on top. He shimmied down to her opening and pushed her legs open. "My turn to present my oral argument."

He started with a few broad licks up and down. He stuck his finger in and stroked her g-spot again, giving her a wicked grin. Then he began tracing patterns with his tongue. Heather couldn't tell exactly what he was doing, just that it felt amazing between his wet tongue and hot breath. She tried to sit up to watch him, but felt incapacitated by his work. She melted into the sheets and lost track of how many times she came while Jim attended to her needs. After a while, Jim sat up and wiped his mouth off with his hand.

"You are going to be the death of me, Jim."

"Hey, I aim to please. But we haven't even gotten to the main event. You aren't too tired, are you?"

"There's more? Jim, you really are trying to kill me?"

"Oh, but a way to go, huh," Jim wiggled his eyebrows. "Now let's have some fun."

Heather wondered what they _had_ been doing if it was "having some fun."

Jim started back up with the kisses and love bites. Heather was sure she would have more than one hickey to explain the next day. She hated hickeys, but that was a problem tomorrow Heather, not right now Heather. All responsible thoughts left Heather's mind quickly as Jim worked his magic. His hands ghosted all over her body. Heather ran her fingers through Jim's hair and down his neck and chest. His hairless chest screamed of excellent grooming habits as did his trimmed treasure trail. "Thank God my waxer talked me into the whole package the other day. Normally, I look like Bigfoot. Someone is getting a cookie basket tomorrow," thought Heather.

Heather reached down and slowly stroked Jim's penis. It began to grow and harden in her hands. "Patience, my pet. All good things to those who wait," he warned.

"I know. I just wanted to keep you engaged."

Oh, trust me. My eyes are locked and loaded on the prize. I just hope you're ready. It will be worth the wait."

"Looking forward to it."

"Good. Do you trust me?"

"Yes," Heather sighed.

"Good. Have you ever heard the idea that pain can heighten your pleasure?"

Heather looked at Jim a little nervously, "Yeah. What did you have in mind?"

"Just trust me. But if you want we can come up with a safe word if it becomes too much. What do you want the safe word to be?"

"Um … banana sandwich."

Jim shot her an odd look. "Ok. That's unique." Heather shrugged a little. "Okay, banana sandwich it is. Are you ready?" Heather nodded. "Okay." Jim reached down and grabbed to silk ties from beside the bed. "Give me your wrists." He tied each wrist to the bed frame. "Do those feel okay to you? Not too tight?"

"They're okay," she responded breathlessly. She had never tried bondage before, but was curious and felt oddly safe with Jim.

Jim pulled her legs open some more. He positioned himself between them. He picked each one up and rested her heels on his shoulders. He very slowly pushed himself into her opening. He stopped about halfway and pulled back out. He repeated this a few times. "Jim, God, you're driving me nuts here. Please you have to go faster."

"No, no! I'm in charge here. I decide what happens. I think that this is all you deserve right now." Jim had a devilish smile on his face. He sunk himself in halfway again painfully slowly and quickly pulled back out. "How does that feel, Kitten? Are you hungry from my cock?"

Suddenly Jim plunged himself into her fast, hard, and deep. Heather yelled out a string of obscenities. "That's my girl," said Jim with a manic look on his face. He kept driving in and out of her at a feverish pace. His balls were slapping furiously against her ass and when he was at his deepest, she felt a little twinge of pain. The pain only drove the pleasure quotient higher. Her mind was tumbling over and over, and she kept screaming out a combination of Jim and God's names and gibberish. She couldn't focus on a lucid thought to save her life and it never felt better. She wanted nothing more than to break free from her restraints and grab ahold of her lover. Not being able to hold Jim was driving her insane. The orgasms kept up, one after another, at a frantic rate. Just as she was coming down from one, another would start. She started to feel dizzy. "Keep your eyes open and on me or I'll stop," Jim yelled. Heather forced herself to stare down Jim. She couldn't let him stop. Not now. Not ever. He had this mad look on his face. "There you go, love. Take it all. Take everything I have for you. This is your reward. Do you like it? Do you like my cock ravaging your sweet, tight pussy? Does that feel good? You're so tight. You feel so good. God, I love fucking you!"

"Oh God, Jim, Yes! Yes! Please fuck my pussy. Don't stop! Ever! I love you so much! Your cock is so big and strong! Don't stop," Heather cried out.

After another moment, Jim cried out, "FUCK!," and came hard. He finished emptying his load inside the redhead, pulled out, and came to rest beside her. He took a big breath, sighed, and kissed her on the nose. "Well, Miss Weire. How did you like that? Satisfactory I hope."

"Jim, untie me arms." Jim grinned and reached up with one hand and undid the knots. "Thank you. Stay right here. I'll be back in a moment." Heather climbed out of bed and walked to the bathroom, stretching her arms. She returned a moment later with a small basin of water, a washcloth, and a hand towel. She pulled the sheets back and cleaned Jim up lovingly. She gave him a kiss and handed him his pjs. She returned to the bathroom, used the toilet, cleaned herself up, and climbed into bed.

"Wait, you don't wear pajamas to sleep in," asked Jim.

"Nope. I'm more comfortable sleeping naked. It's healthier too. I have pjs for lounging around the house, but I sleep in the nude. Is that going to be a problem, Jim," teased Heather.

"I'll find a way to adjust to this startling news," Jim smirked. "Well, when in Rome." He climbed out of bed and disrobed as well. He climbed back under the sheets and snuggled up close to Heather. She reached over and turned off the bedside lamp. They fell asleep quickly thereafter.


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's note: So, how was that sex scene? That was the first one I've ever written, so forgive me if it was uber cheesy and fake. If anyone has tips on how to write better ones, please share. I don't want my sex scenes to come off like bad impressions of "Fifty Shades of Gray." Don't get me wrong. FSOG is a good way to escape reality, but it is not an accurate portrayal of BDSM lifestyle. (So, I've been told by friends who participate.) Standard thanks to the usual suspects. Special thanks to the good people at GlaxoSmithKline for inventing Imitrex. It feels so nice to not have the overwhelming feeling that my head is going to spilt open wide while I go blind and vomit up everything I've ever eaten. To everyone who has written me with concerns about Sebastian's poor broken heart, this chapter is my start to getting him back to a good place. Hope you enjoy and thanks for waiting.**

Chapter 16

Jim woke up the next morning and looked around. He saw his bedmate and memories of the previous night flashed through his mind. He grinned as he remembered Heather's shouts of passionate approval to his ministrations. "She looks so sweet and innocent sleeping, but I know that she quite the hellcat in the sack. I wonder if I should wake her up for Round 2 or let her sleep? Hmmm, the things I want to do to that body," he mused. He vaguely remembered reading that she did gymnastics, cheerleading, and dance when she younger and wondered if she held onto any flexibility. "We will have to test that out later." Jim quietly climbed out of bed and snuck out of the bedroom into the hall.

"Morning, boss. Did you have a good night?" Sebastian was standing out Heather's bedroom with a coffee cup in one hand and the newspaper in the other. "I don't think Heather did. I heard her screaming a lot. I went to check on her, but the door was locked. I think she may have been having some night terrors," the sniper's voice was thick with sarcasm.

Jim glared at his lieutenant. "I'm going to disagree with you, Sebby. I'm willing to bet she had an amazing night. One that she'll want to repeat real soon. Now give me that mug." Jim put the cup up to his lips. "This isn't coffee."

"Nope. Never said it was. It's Heather's cocoa. With extra marshmallows and milk. Just the way she likes it."

Just then, Heather opened the bedroom door. "Hey, morning guys," she yawned. "Ooo, is that hot chocolate? Jim, did you make that for me? Thank you."

"Actually, Kitten, I made it for you. Just the way you like it. Marshmallows and milk," Sebastian piped up. "How did you sleep?"

"Oh, once I finally fell asleep, I slept great. Like the dead. I was so relaxed. It's been forever since I've been that relaxed. I had an amazing night last night." Heather spoke to Sebastian, but kept her eyes on Jim the whole time.

Jim smirked. "I'm glad you were so relaxed. I thought you seemed a bit tense last night, but it's amazing what a little pre-bed exercise can do for you."

Sebastian rolled his eyes and walked downstairs, muttering something about "fucking bunnies" and "nasty ass" under his breath. Jim pulled Heather close and wrapped his arms around her. "You want to give it another go before breakfast? I've got plenty of ideas for that body of yours. I wouldn't turn down another blowie. The one last night was phenomenal. I still don't know what you did, but damn, you're a freak."

Heather giggled. "I'm going to have to turn you down right now. I don't want to, but I feel like Basher is feeling a little neglected right now. I will, however, go downstairs and make my world-famous pancakes. If you think my bjs are good, wait until you taste these pancakes. You may just want to keep me around for those alone." She kissed him and walked downstairs.

Heather walked into the kitchen. "Bash, I was going to make pancakes. Can you help me, please?"

"Why can't Jim. Sounded like he was very helpful last night," Sebastian pouted.

"Basher, I'm sorry. I guess we were a little loud. Hey, I know what I can do to put you in a better mood. Today is all about you. I will make pancakes. Then I need to get a shower. Then how about you and I go to the shooting range for a few hours. Then we'll go the go-kart track and if you want, we go to that mystery room thing you like so much. What do you say? We just have to be back by about 4 or so. Does that sound like fun?"

"I don't know. Is _he_ coming with us?" Sebastian was slightly less pouty.

"Well, Hun, you both are my guests, so it would probably be rude not to invite him, but I promise today will be all about what you want to do, okay?"

"Okay. I guess he can come, but he has to be nice. And I get to hold your hand today, not him. And no kissing. And I get to pick lunch."

Heather nodded her head. "Sounds completely fair." She hugged Sebastian and reached down to get his apron. "Here, put your apron on and help me make the pancakes."

Jim stood outside the kitchen and heard the entire conversation. "Careful Moran. I am still your boss," he thought to himself.

Together Heather and Sebastian made breakfast as they listened to music. Heather specifically chose "Sebastian's mix" from her music library. She was absolutely serious about making up for last night to her friend. She remembered a time from when she was younger and come home from school and heard her oldest sister having sex with her then boyfriend and how grossed out she was by the noises. She imagined poor Sebastian having to hear her and Jim last night and grimaced at how profoundly uncomfortable that must have been for him to hear his "baby sister" getting railed by his boss. When the pancakes were almost done, Sebastian set the table and poured juice for everyone. Heather called out for Jim to come to the table. He came into the kitchen and kissed her on the cheek, staring pointedly at Sebastian. Sebastian's eyes narrowed just slightly. Jim smirked ever so slightly. "Smells great, baby. Oh, Sebastian, I _love_ your apron. It's _so_ you! I should get you some for at work."

"Jim, don't tease Bash about the apron. I think a man who can cook is very sexy and a man who is sensible enough to protect his clothes while he is cooking is even sexier. It shows that he appreciates what he has in life. Now sit down at the table." Sebastian stuck his tongue out at Jim behind Heather's back. Jim retorted with a flash of his middle finger.

Heather brought the pancakes over to the table. "Jim, Bash and I were talking. We're going to the shooting range and the go-kart course today. There's also this place where you go, and you get put in a mystery or puzzle type situation and then you have to solve it to escape the room. If we have time today, we wanted to go do that too. Do you want to come?"

"I don't want to go shoot guns. I don't like to get my hands dirty. That's why I have a staff to do it for me. I'm the brains. They're the muscle."

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that. Bash and I will just go and then after the range, we'll come back and pick you up to go to the go-karts, okay?"

"No, I don't like go-karts, either. They're stupid and dirty. Plus, I'll miss you if you're gone," Jim whined. "Spend the day with me. Sebastian can go to the range and go-karts by himself. I want to take you back to bed and see what kind of trouble we can get up to."

"No, Jim, honey. I already promised Sebastian that we would go shooting and ride go-karts. I want to go the range and I haven't ridden go-karts in a while. I miss both. Don't worry. I'll show you 'lots of trouble' tonight. Just you wait, Mister. Would you be interested in going to the escape room with us at least? I think you would like it a lot. Like I said, you have to search for clues and solve puzzles and you only have 1 hour to escape the room. That big sexy brain might get a kick out of it."

"I guess." It was Jim's turn to pout.

"Honey, don't pout. Please. I had already promised Bash this stuff when he called me a few days ago and it'll be fun. Come on out with us. I want to wow you with my marksmanship. I'm so good I give Basher here a run for his money."

Sebastian snorted. "No, no you don't, Kitten. I mean you are good, but I'm a damn sniper for God's sake. It's my job. I'm a much better shot than you. I love you and all, but c'mon now. Someone's got an overinflated ego here. That would be like me saying that I can do an appendix surgery better than you. Just not realistic."

"Ok, 1. It's called an appendectomy. 2. I don't routinely do those. That's what General Surgeons are for. 3. I am an amazing shot. I could kick your ass any day, any time, blindfolded and drunk, so don't even, Mr. Blonde and Too Big for Your Britches. Don't even!" Heather rolled her eyes, tossed her hair, and punched her friend in the arm.

"Uh, yeah, ok. Whatever helps you sleep at night, Little Girl. All I know is that I make a living shooting people and you don't. Draw your own conclusions." Sebastian threw his arms up in mock defense.

"Jim, did Sebastian ever tell you the story about our trip to Thailand? It's a fascinating story! It seems that our young friend here …"

"Okay, okay, okay!" exclaimed Sebastian. "I'm sorry. You are a better shot than me. You taught me everything I know. I bow down to your superiority. You are clearly my better in all ways," said the sniper through clenched teeth.

"Damn straight!" Heather grinned at her friend. She gave him a sideways hug. "As long as you remember that, everything will be okay."

"I want to hear this story now. Go on. Tell me about this person Sebby met," Jim leaned in.

"No, no. That's his story to tell, not mine. But short version … I stepped in to save the day before Bash could cross a bridge that no straight man wants crossed. Let's just say that there are some very pretty men in Asia." Heather flashed Sebastian a side knowing glance. "Alright, on that note, let's get cleaned up and ready to go. Honey, come on up and pick out what guns you want to take. I'm going to bring the Makarov and probably the new Colt. Jim, are you sure you don't want to come along? To be honest, I will miss you while we're gone. I know I'd have more fun if you were there."

"I guess I can go along. It wouldn't hurt to get some practice in, just in case Moran's not around and I get into trouble. Can I pick out my gun first?"

"I get first choice, then you and Basher can fight over what's left. Then as a second thought, she added, "With words! Not by shooting each other. Use your words, both of you!"

They went upstairs to Heather's bedroom. She opened her closet and pushed some clothes over. She disabled the security system and opened the gun vault. She grabbed her two selections and put them on the bed. "Okay, you guys can each pick up to two guns to take along. Play nicely and remember to USE YOUR WORDS! Once you have picked out your guns, I'll open the bullet cabinet."

"You keep your guns and bullets separately," wondered Jim.

"Yeah. Don't you? I have nieces and nephews and sometimes my friends with kids come over. It's just basic safety. Even the NRA recommends doing that. The bullet cabinet is also where I store the eye and ear protection. It's just a bit more convenient that way."

The two men made their selections and Heather grabbed the appropriate ammo and handed each of them ear and eye protection. She packed everything into a bag for the road. "Okay, I need to get a quick shower and get dressed. Give me about 20 minutes and then I should be ready. No, Jim, to answer your unanswered question, you may not join me. I actually intend on getting clean and ready, not what you're thinking."

Thirty minutes, the trio was backing out of the driveway and heading to the nearby outdoor range. The weather was beautiful and a perfect temperature for being outside. They parked at the range and Heather led them up to the registration shack. She showed her information and signed them in. They were assigned rows 2, 3, and 4. They walked over to their assigned area and set to work. After a while, Heather stopped shooting and watched Jim as he practiced. He was technically proficient, but lacked the easy grace that both she and Sebastian had in spades. "I wonder how often he actually does shoot people." She knew that in addition to Bash, Jim had between 7-10 regular assassins/security "agents." Sebastian oversaw all of them, she knew that, but she wondered how often Jim really had to actively participate in his own defense. "Maybe I should get Bash to take him out to practice routinely. Not just firearms, but some basic self-defense, what was the name of that thing Robert Downey Jr. did, Wing Chun or something, that could work. Maybe teach him some defensive driving skills?" She made a mental note to talk to Sebastian later about it. She needed to make sure he kept safe. In his line of work, that was going to be tough, but not impossible. Speaking of Sebastian, Heather looked over at her friend. He had wandered over to row 5 and was standing behind a young blonde woman, with his arms positioned over hers. Heather stood back for a moment and observed. He was smiling his "sexy shark smile." She'd seen it several times before. Hell, she had fallen for it back in Afghanistan. She knew that it only ended one way. Bashie really was gonna get some today. "You go, boy! Just remember, no glove, no love," she thought to herself. After a moment, Sebastian looked up and noticed her gaze. Heather flashed him a toothy grin and a thumbs up. He blushed. She held up her hand as if to say, "Oh, no. Don't let me stop you there." She winked at him and turned her attention back to Jim. She placed her hand on his back and waited for him to point the gun towards the ground. She tapped her earphones to encourage him to take his off for a minute. "You're doing good, baby. Are you having fun?" She smiled encouragingly at her boyfriend.

"I suck at this. Are we almost done?"

"No, honey. You're doing great. She called his target forward. "Look at this. You have some instant kill shots and the ones that aren't would still do quite a bit of damage to somebody. Like look at this one. That's his spleen. Do you know what your spleen does? It's super important. Yeah, you can technically live without one, but you are going to be one sick puppy for the rest of your life without it. And this one right here in the shoulder? That's a very long, painful recovery and you can easily get something called 'frozen shoulder' from it. You wouldn't be able to use that arm right ever again. You're totally rocking this. Do you and Sebastian ever go out and practice together? That could be fun, and it might help you get more comfortable with shooting. Do you think when you guys get back home that you like to go shooting on a regular basis with Bash? I'm sure he'd love to take you. He's a great teacher too. Hey, I know. Do you want to try my Makarov? It's my favorite gun. I think you'll love it. Here. I'll trade you. You barely have to squeeze the trigger. It was my first gun and it feels like it was custom made for my hand. See, how nicely that fits in your hand. Okay, put your earphones back on, then point and shoot." Jim squeezed the trigger and the bullet went flying straight through the left eye of the paper target. "Ooo, honey! Great job! Look at that!"

"I was aiming for the heart," huffed Jim.

"Oh. Well, that was still an awesome shot. It was definitely a kill shot. That's what is important! Hey, totally unrelated, but look over at Sebastian. He's found himself a lady friend. Maybe that will boost his spirits. He seems kind of glum lately. I don't know what came over him. Since he's busy, I can sneak a kiss from you. I promised him I wouldn't suck face with you while we out, but I don't think he'll see. But we have to be quick." She reached up and placed her hands on either side of Jim's face and tenderly kissed him. "I can't believe you guys are leaving tomorrow. At the risk of being super clingy girlfriend here, I'm going to miss you so much. I know I'll see you in two weeks, but it's going to be a long two weeks."

"I know, but you know what they say. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. It's just two weeks. Is there anything you want to do while you're in London?"

"Yes, but it's super cheesy," she said with a grimace.

"Oh, God. You don't want to go get your picture taken with the Beefeaters at the palace, do you? I'm sorry, but no. I'm not doing that. I have to draw the line somewhere."

"Oh, no. No! I want to ride the big Farris Wheel. I know. So cheesy and touristy, but I love Farris wheels and my dad would never take me when I was in town. I'm a dork. I know, … but Farris wheel. C'mon!"

Jim laughed. "I think I can manage that for you. Anything else?"

"I'm pretty open to suggestions. I will have to stop by my dad's office to make the obligatory appearance, but I can do that alone. I don't want you to have to suffer that just yet. Maybe after we get married and have a whole litter of children."

"I thought you couldn't have kids."

"Yeah, I can't. That's why we can probably push you meeting my dad off until after the kids are grown and married off themselves. Just so you have time to prepare. He can be a bit daunting."

"Oh, I'm sure he's a delight. After all, he raised you and I love you."

"Yeah, he funded my raising. He didn't actually get his hands dirty in things like being supportive or emotionally available. Anyway, I'm going to go check on Sebastian and his eye candy. Keep practicing and I'll be back in a few."

Heather walked over to Sebastian and tapped him on his shoulder. "Hi! Jim and I are wrapping things up. Are you almost done over here?"

"Oh, yeah. I was just showing Sherri how to improve her grip. Sherri, this is my friend Heather. Heather, this is Sherri. This is the first time she's ever shot a gun."

"I'm sure it is. Sherri, it's lovely to meet you. In the future, when you come to shoot, you may want to wear a bit more clothing. This is a shooting range, not a street corner. Also, shell casings can get terribly hot and they sting quite a bit when they bounce off exposed flesh. Maybe consider leaving the stripper heels at home and invest in a sturdy pair of boots with no heel. Maybe some jeans or heavier pants than gold lame Daisy Dukes and a halter top. You know, whatever feels natural. Bash, you about ready to go, honey?"

"Yeah, it was nice to meet you Sherri. Keep practicing those tips I gave you." Sebastian walked away with Heather. "Sebby, that girl was trailer trash. You deserve someone much better. Someone like Kate. Trust me."

"Yeah, she was throwing herself at me. It kind of took the fun out of it all, but the attention was nice for a change. Thanks for stepping in."

"Not a problem. What are friends for? Hey, before we go meet Jim, let me ask you a favor. Jim's needs a little help with his marksmanship. Do you think you could take him out shooting periodically? Maybe teach him a few tricks. I would feel a lot better knowing that if the shit hit the fan, he could at least help protect himself a little."

"Yeah, no problem. Would he be agreeable to that? I've offered in the past and he's kind of turned me down.

"I mentioned something to him about it and he didn't flat out turn the idea down so, maybe if you re-approach him after you guys get back in a totally cool, relaxed way, he might go for it. Maybe bring up how much I like shooting and it could be a cool activity that we could do together sometimes. Also, is there anyone at the firm who's good at self-defense like karate or judo or something. Maybe someone who could show Jim a few moves. Finally, what would you think of getting him some defensive driving lessons. I know you said he normally has a driver, but just in case. I'm just trying to keep him as safe as possible. Not that I don't trust you as his Chief, but you know my history and I just want to make sure we're covering all the bases that we realistically can safety-wise."

"You're asking for a lot, you know?"

"I know, but I worry. You know I worry. Do you think I'm making a mountain out of a molehill? I am really going overboard with this? I just can't bear the thought of losing him over something that could have been prevented."

"I'll see what I can do. But you know I personally vet every single person on staff. They're solid. The best of the best. I make sure of it. I am really good at my job."

"Honey, I know you are amazing at your job. I'm sure that your guys are the best of the best, but you also know what happened with Brian and it makes me a little extra paranoid about safety. Come here." She hugged her friend tight. "I trust you completely to keep Jim safe. Do whatever you feel is necessary, okay? Just remember if he gets hurt or dies, I will kill you. Slowly. Painfully. Methodically."

"I wouldn't expect any less, Kitten. Now let's go ride some go-karts!"

They collected Jim and signed out of the range. They piled into the car and drove down the road to the go-kart track. They drove around the track for 2 hours. Jim had to admit that he was having a lot of fun. Each person won a few of the races and Heather saw that Jim did have some impressive defensive driving skills. Granted a go-kart was different from a car, but she did feel a little bit better about his road maneuvers. They went inside for lunch as Sebastian had chosen the café inside the entertainment complex for lunch. Heather and Sebastian got corn dogs and fries, while Jim chose a large chicken salad. For dessert, Heather and Jim split a hot fudge sundae and Sebastian devoured a huge funnel cake topped with strawberry sauce. After they finished eating, they discussed plans for the afternoon. "We can go to the escape room or we can head home. It's up to you guys. I'm open to either option. The escape room is about 20 minutes away and according to the website, we can choose between Houdini's Surprise or Murderer's Row. Murderer's Row is supposed to be harder, but it looks more interesting. We would be convicted killers and we would have an hour to prove our innocence before we get sent to the electric chair. Houdini's Surprise is one where we would have to figure out how Houdini escaped an unescapable room. What are you guys thinking?"

Jim and Sebastian looked at each other and said in unison, "Murderer's Row."

"How did I know? Alright, y'all ready? Let's go. Bash, do you mind driving. I think I ate a little too much. I feel a little sick to my stomach. I'll type the address into my phone for you."

"If you don't feel good, we can go home, love. We don't have to go do this, right Seb," said Jim.

"Yeah, if you don't feel okay, I'm fine with heading home now."

"No, I'll be fine. You know how my stomach gets sometimes, Bash. This'll pass in a bit. Besides, I've never been a convicted killer before. This sounds fun." Heather climbed in the back and laid down. Jim got in the front passenger seat, while Sebastian filled the driver's seat.

Sebastian parked the car and Heather sat up. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm good now. I just needed to digest some food. Let's go. I'm excited to try this."


	17. Chapter 17

**Author's note: Thanks to the usual suspects. The last chapter was getting too long so I split it into two. This is the chapter where Sebastian's life is going to continue to get better. I started a little of it last chapter, but it will continue in this one. Thanks to sofiaramedez and Kittypawswrites for your reviews/thoughts. Just a warning: This chapter very briefly mentions in passing incest. It's a very brief comment in passing, but just in case, anyone is easily triggered.**

They entered the building and signed up for the next opening. It was to start in 15 minutes. The employee briefed them on how the game worked and when the time arrived, let them into the room. "Good luck, Murderers!" Jim grabbed the first clue and read it off. "The victim was found bludgeoned with a frozen leg of lamb from your kitchen. The lamb was sitting next to the body. The lamb's core temperature when the lead detective arrived was 31 degrees Fahrenheit. The victim's core temperature was 70 degrees Fahrenheit. The ambient temperature of the room was 71 degrees. Based on the victim's temperature, the coroner estimated that death had occurred 12 hours before."

"There's no way that's accurate, Jim. Those numbers don't match up at all. Let me see that card." Heather reached out for the clue. She re-read it. "The lamb would have been way more defrosted by that time. You should never thaw meat out on the counter, but if you do, that lamb should have been closer to a good 45-50 degrees, if not more. That meat was still frozen. It couldn't have been out of the freezer for more than 30, 45 minutes at best. That doesn't even factor in the fact that this happened in December, so the heat would have been on for at least part of that 12 hours. Winters around here get viciously cold. You have to have the heat on, pretty much round the clock. Plus, you never use just core temperature to determine time of death. You look at rigor, mottling, decomp, lots of things. Never just one thing!"

"Ok, Kitten. So, we know that's wrong, so what does that tell us?"

"Well, it sounds like there was some incompetence on someone's part. Either the detectives, or the people who secured the initial crime scene, or the forensics people, somewhere. Someone screwed up big. What we don't know is if it was incompetence or a frame-up."

"I think I might have an answer to that," said Sebastian. "Come over and read this. It just popped up on the computer." It was a series of emails between the District Attorney, the Lead Detective, Head of Forensics Lab, and Mayor. They seemed to be discussing a cover-up of citywide corruption involving restaurant licenses and health code violations. Your names appeared prominently, and the terms were not friendly. "Guys, I think we were framed. And it started with the mayor and worked its way down. The way I'm reading this email here from the mayor to the DA it sounds like they planned this crime to frame us. He tells the DA to make sure that the lead detective is available 'tomorrow night around 9 pm. We are going to shut this down once and for all.' The victim was discovered at 8:30 and the lead detective arrived on scene at 8:55."

The trio ran through the other clues and ended up solving the room in 33 minutes, which was a new course record. After getting their picture taken for the "Wall of Fame," they got back in the car and drove home.

"That was fun. Thanks for suggesting it, love," said Jim.

"Yeah. Thanks for picking 'Murderers Row.' That was neat how we got to bring our proof to the court and see the Mayor and DA get arrested."

They arrived at Heather's house and walked in. "Kate should be here in about an hour. I'm going to get another shower to freshen up. When I get done in the shower, you guys are free to hop in." She headed upstairs.

Jim and Sebastian sat down on the couch. Jim's phone rang. "Hello? Excuse me! When did _that_ happen?" Sebastian's ears perked up at the sign of trouble. "Moran and I are returning tomorrow. Get him a room. Work him over. If you kill him, fine. If not, Moran will finish him when we get back. Let him know of my displeasure at this turn of events. Do not fail at this or you will be next!" Jim punched the end button on the call. "Feckin' Patterson. Motherfucker was found talking to Maslov. Dekker is rooming him. I want him dead as soon as we land. I don't care about creativity, just get it done."

"Okay. I need to make some calls. If you want to get the next shower, go ahead. I need to set up the cameras and bugs. I was thinking of using Matthews for that. Have you talked to Heather about the dog, yet? I think she would probably go for a shelter dog over a private breeder. She's a softie for shelter animals."

"No, I want a private breeder. A puppy that can be well-trained. Shelter dogs have histories. I don't have time for that. What do you think she will want? You mentioned pit bulls earlier. Would she go for that? I want her to be happy as well as safe."

"Yeah, a pit bull would be good. Failing that, maybe a German Sheppard or Rottie."

"I want her to have two. It's better than one, but not unmanageable. Make it happen Sebastian."

"Yes, sir."

Jim walked upstairs and picked out clothes for that evening. After a few minutes, he walked down the hall and knocked on Heather's bedroom door. She opened the door, wearing a short silk robe. Her hair was wrapped up in a towel.

"Oh, good you're done. I'm up next for a shower. Sebastian offered to go last. Although, I could forgo that shower and see what you have under that robe, ma'am," he flashed her a lascivious grin.

"Tempting, but same stuff as last night, just cleaner and softer. You'll get to see it soon enough." She winked at him. "Oh, you never did tell me where we're going. I'm not sure what to wear. How dressed up should I be? Am I looking at the Oscars or business lunch with my accountant?"

"A little something in between, but closer to the Oscars. Surprise me!"

"What are you wearing?"

"Westwood, of course."

"Hmm, I think I have something along those lines. Yes, I think I have just the thing in mind. Now, if you'll excuse me. I want to run through the recipe with Bash and then Kate should be here soon. Go get that shower, lover boy!"

"Your wish is my command, my dear." Heather shut the door and pulled the towel off her hair. She combed it straight and hung up the towel. She opened the door and walked downstairs. "Bash, are you down here? I wanted to run through the lasagna recipe with you quick before Katie gets here." She reached the bottom of the staircase. "Sebastian, are you conducting business while on vacation? What's the rule? No business while on vacation. Do I need to take your phone away for the night?"

"I'm sorry, but Jim and I had a little work crisis that I needed to iron out really quick. It's handled now and I'm back ready to relax."

"Oh, what happened? Nothing serious, I hope."

"Octopus, Kitten." Octopus was their code word for aspects of Sebastian's job that he wasn't allowed to talk about for one reason or another. Heather knew that it was generally for her safety not to know, but her natural curiosity made these secrets a little annoying.

"Okay. Say no more. I'm glad everything is better now. C'mon let's review that recipe quick. Jim's in the shower now and I want you to get a chance to get one before Kate gets here. I need her to see you at sexiest, Mr. Man."

Heather grabbed the cookbook and had Sebastian read the recipe through. She showed him where everything was and asked him if he had any questions. "Nope, seems pretty straight forward."

"Okay, good. Kate's a good cook too, so I'm sure you two can figure it all out. It's a simple recipe. It's a little time consuming, but not terribly difficult."

Jim called out from upstairs that he was done in the shower. "Okay, thanks honey. I send Bash up in a minute. Kate's going to be here soon. I'll hang down here until she gets here and then we'll be up in my room."

Sebastian went upstairs and got ready. Kate called a few minutes later. "Hey girl, I'll be there in a minute. Can you open the fortress gates for me?"

"Sure, I'll do it now. See you in a minute." She looked out the front window and hit the button as soon as she saw Kate's car start to pull in. She drove through and parked beside Heather's car. Heather opened the front door as her friend climbed up the porch. "Hey, you look nice. Bash is in the shower. You guys are going to make lasagna tonight, while Jim and I go out, okay?"

"I want to meet Jim first. Is he quality? Is he worth you? Does he meet all of the requirements? You're not settling, are you? We don't settle Heather Janeen. We are high class females. We deserve only the best. Where's he taking you tonight? It better not be McDonald's. My girl deserves better than a clown in a box."

"Woah, girl. Come inside. Let's go upstairs and get me ready. I promise you can meet Jim before we leave. Just maybe don't give him the third degree. He's quality. I promise. Very high quality. I don't know exactly where we are going, but it is definitely not McDonald's." The ladies walked upstairs and met Sebastian in the hallway, exiting the bathroom. He was wearing only a towel around his waist. "Bash, you remember Kate, right?"

Sebastian blushed. "Hey Kate. How are you? It's been what, a year? Thanks for coming over tonight. Jim and Heather are abandoning me."

Kate was silently gaping at Sebastian's nearly naked form. Heather nudged her friend. "Kate. Close your mouth. You're drooling on my hardwood floors. Say something to him," she whispered.

"Oh … uh … yeah … that … um sounds about right, Sebastian. About a year. I'm glad to come over. I uh … want to meet this Jizz, I mean Jim before Heather gets too serious about him. Make sure he's a good guy. I heard we're making dinner together tonight. Lasagna. I love lasagna. I like tomatoes and cheese and noodles and … they're all in … lasagna together. All mixed together. Lasagna makes me happy. Do you like lasagna, Sebastian? I like it. How about you?"

"Yeah, lasagna is good. I'm going to get dressed now. I'll see you two later." He turned and walked into his bedroom.

"What the fuck was that about? 'I like lasagna. I like tomatoes and cheese and noodles.' Are you having a stroke? Are you okay?"

"Heather, he got even hotter in the past year. His chest and those arms. Damn, girl. How are you not in those pants 24/7?"

"Eww! Sebastian is the closest thing I have to a brother. That would be like me asking you why you're not sleeping with Phillip. Do you want to sleep with your brother, Katherine? Because he's not bad looking either. Do you want to make some one-eyed, three-headed babies with Big Poppa Phil?"

"Huge difference. Phil is my twin brother and a total dork. Sebastian isn't related to you in the least. Completely different."

"Whatever. Let's go get me ready. I need help picking out something to wear. I have two dresses in mind. Tell me what you think." They closed the bedroom door behind them and Heather grabbed the two gowns from the closet. She held them up. "Choice one or choice two. I'm torn. I love both of them. My boobs look amazing in this one, but my ass looks phenomenal in this one. So, boobs or butt?"

"Let me see you each of them. I'm leaning towards boobs for the color, but I like the cut of butt."

Heather modeled both for her friend. "Actually, I like the first one. It's a great color and both your boobs and butt look stunning in it. I do want to borrow option 2 sometime, though."

Heather put the second dress back on the hanger and into the closet. "Okay, next hair up or down."

"With that dress, down and loosely curled so it falls over your shoulders. Light make-up. Just a little mascara, a tiny bit of blush, and … this lipstick. Let the dress do all the talking tonight."

With Kate's help, Heather finished getting ready. She slipped the dress and heels on last and took a final look in the mirror. "So, good enough?"

"Perfect. Jim is a lucky man. Do you think tonight might be the night?"

"Oh, actually. Last night was the night. And it was …" Heather sighed and cracked a dreamy grin, "out of this world! That man took me places I didn't know existed. At one point, I literally had an out of body experience. I saw Jesus eyes, Katie. Jesus eyes! I haven't seen Jesus eyes since Brian."

"Wow. I haven't had that in forever. Does this guy have a brother?"

I don't know. Should I find out? I thought you like lasagna," Heather smirked. "Come on, let's get downstairs. I want you to meet Jim. Just remember to be nice. Take it semi-easy with the Spanish Inquisition, okay?"

The two friends walked downstairs. Jim and Sebastian were sitting in the living room, watching tv. Fortunately for Kate's verbal skills, Sebastian was dressed in a pair of black jeans and an open collared polo. Jim was dressed to the nines in a dark black suit with a pale pink button down shirt. His black tie had pale gray skulls on it and tucked in his breast pocket was a pale pink pocket square that perfectly matched his shirt. He had shiny, black leather Dolce & Gabbana oxfords and his cuff links were skulls with tiny diamonds for eyes. Heather felt herself swoon as she gazed up her new boyfriend. She toyed with the idea of forgoing dinner and dragging him upstairs by that wonderfully cheeky tie. Jim stood up and buttoned his jacket. "Heather, you look stunning, my dear. That dress is amazing. You take my breath away."

"No, Jim, it is you who is breathtaking. I love that suit on you. And that tie. Oh, my! I have a good mind to skip dinner and take you upstairs forever."

"Kate, you look nice too," piped in Sebastian.

"Thanks, Sebastian. So do you."

"Katie, meet Jim. Jim, this is my friend Kate. We work together at the hospital. Kate grew up right outside of Bath. Jim is Bash's boss."

"Bath, really? What brought you to the States?"

"Followed a guy here. Relationship didn't work out, but I got a great job so when we broke up, I stayed and got my American citizenship. I've lived here about 9 years now. I try to get back home at least once a year. What brings you here?"

"Sebastian and I are just visiting for a couple of days. We're flying back tomorrow afternoon. Heather's been a great hostess."

"How long have you and Heather been dating? I don't remember her mentioning you before."

"We just started yesterday. She and Sebastian came to pick me up at the airport and over the course of the day, I just knew. I've never believed in love at first sight, but then I had never met Heather. She's a special girl. I'm very lucky." Jim kissed Heather on the cheek. "Are you ready to go? I hired a car and they should be here soon."

"Oh, okay. I didn't know you hired a car. Wow! Yeah, let me grab my bag and then I'll be ready. Bash, you and Kate are good. You don't need anything before we go?"

"Nope, have fun. Don't hurry back. Jim, Heather likes dancing too."

"Uh, okay. Well, have fun. I'll have my cell if you need anything. Jim, do you want to wait outside on the porch?" Jim smiled and nodded.


	18. Chapter 18

**Author's note: Continued thanks to Mofitiss, ACD, et al. You're the reason I have characters to play with. Special shout out to my fellow American citizens. Thanks for coming out to vote. Whether your candidate won or lost, your vote really did matter. Never let someone steal your voice from you by not voting.**

Chapter 18

Heather and Jim walked out the door and took a seat on the front porch glider. "It's supposed to be a beautiful night. Maybe after dinner, we can go for a walk before returning home. I want to give Bash and Kate plenty of time alone tonight. Kate kind of has a thing for him and if he plays his cards right, we might come home to find them up to some naughtiness." Heather grinned teasingly. "I just hope Bash has the good sense to move things up to his room before they get too hot and heavy. I don't want to walk into my house and see Bashie buns staring me down while they're playing 'sink the shillelagh.' That would be alarming, to say the least."

Jim laughed. "Yeah, I walked in on him once when he was taking care of himself and that was horrific. He had the weirdest look on his face I had ever seen." Jim shuddered at the memory.

"Oh, did it look something like this?" Heather crossed her eyes and jutted out her lower jaw. "Was he chanting something about 'Go Big Daddy. Yeah, Big Daddy! In like a super deep voice, like a bad Barry White impression?"

"Oh my God, yeah! That's exactly what he was doing! How did you know?"

"Jim, that's his 'O' face." Heather kind of laughed. "You … you do know that Bash and I had sex together when we were in Afghanistan and then a couple times after that, right? We were basically friends with benefits. If we were both in the same town and feeling frisky, we would have the occasional booty call. It never really meant anything. It was just safe, comfortable sex. Not anymore. It's been years since we did anything like that. I insisted that we stop, when I realized that I was falling in love with him, but that he just didn't see me like that. The sex went from being carefree and fun to meaning something and he couldn't or wouldn't commit to going to the level I was on. So, we stopped for the sake of our friendship. I missed it for a while, but we both moved on a long time ago. We're both back to being great platonic friends. Neither one of us sees the other in any sort of sexual way, I promise. Besides, I'm with you now and I don't cheat. I'm a one-man kind of girl. My dad cheated on my mom a lot throughout their marriage and that caused me to lose a lot of respect for him. I wholeheartedly believe that when you make a commitment to someone, you honor that commitment 100%. Honesty and respect are huge for me. They are essential to any relationship. Brian and I talked a lot before we got married about the future because I was really nervous about it, given how shitty my parents' marriage was. We decided that there were only two reasons to ever get divorced. We called them the "2 A's." Adultery and Abuse. And they were final. If one of us committed one of them, it was over. No 2nd chances. No redos. No promises 'that it'll never happen again.' Nothing. The marriage was over permanently. We figured that everything else could be worked on, probably in therapy. It wouldn't be fun, or easy, or cheap, or fast, but it could be fixed. But cheating on your spouse and/or purposefully hurting them … uh uh, no, game over. You hurt me physically, emotionally, financially, sexually, whatever, I'm gone and I'm not looking back for anything. I grew up watching my mom tolerate far far too much of my dad's shit and I promised myself I would NEVER be like her. Ever! You need to understand that right now or this will never work out. Bash and I have an understanding that there are sometimes things he can't tell me, usually to keep me safe and that's fine. We even came up with a code word, but he knows that if he tells me something, it has to be the absolute truth. No lies. No misdirection. I know that you guys had a situation at work earlier today. I don't know what it was about. I saw Bash on the phone and was kidding him about spending his vacation doing work and he said he had to and invoked our code word and that was it. I knew to back off immediately. I'm curious to know what happened because I'm nosy, but if Bash uses our code word, then that's that. I don't ask any further. The matter gets dropped." Heather paused. "Well, ok, now that I've brought the room down to funeral-level fun, what else can we talk about else that's super depressing and sucks all of the joy out of the moment. Want to tell me about the time you found your pet dog, Scraps run over by your neighbor or the day your grandma died, and you found out that Santa wasn't real?" She smiled shyly.

"No, I hear you. I demand faithfulness and honesty too. My brother and I had a bad childhood, so trust is hard for me. I guess it's something we'll have to work on together. I trust Moran, but even that took me a long time to achieve."

"Do you trust me? It's okay if you don't just yet. I want you to, but I can appreciate the fact that it might take a while. I'll do my best to earn your trust. Can you do the same for me?"

"Yeah. Is there anything I can do to expedite that process?"

"Jim, just … just promise that you'll always be honest with me. If there is something you can't tell me for my safety or something, just say 'octopus.' That's Bash and my code word. Just don't overuse it. I need to know that I can trust the information I'm being given. You can also help by understanding that this is scary for me. When Brian died, I thought I had lost my chance to ever have true love again. You don't have the safest job on Earth and I …" Heather paused. "I don't know what I would do if I put my whole heart into another relationship and it ended the way the last one did. Brian's death almost killed me. I was deeply suicidal for a while. I was cutting myself. I started drinking a lot and overeating. I didn't sleep. I took ridiculous risks. I stopped my bipolar meds. I became very hard and bitter. I was barely functional. It was really ugly for quite a while. I can't go back to that place. I just can't. I don't know if I would be able to escape a second time."

Jim wrapped his arms around her. "Okay, I can agree to that. Honesty and keeping safe. I will do my best. Sebastian and the rest of the security team does a good job of keeping me safe and I will make a real effort to be open with you as much as I can. Octopus, huh? Okay, I'll try to remember that. Would you feel better about my safety if you met the security team when you came to London in a few weeks? You could even sit down with them and ask questions, if you wanted. If it would make you feel better?"

Heather considered the offer for a moment, "Yeah, yeah. That might help. You don't think they'll mind?"

"Love, they're my employees. I pay them to do whatever I order. If any of them give you any crap, tell me or Sebastian and they will be handled." Jim replied with a comforting smile. "Look, our limo is here. Can you hit the gates please?"

Heather opened the front door and typed in the code. "Bash, when the car leaves, could you please close the gates with the code. Thank you!"

Heather heard a giggle from the kitchen. "Sebastian, did you hear me?" She yelled out. "Please close the gates after the limo leaves."

"Ok. Will do. Have a good time. Don't hurry back!"

Heather rolled her eyes and closed the front door. "Well, the children are getting along well. We were just reminded again not to hurry back. I'm only slightly nauseous now."

Jim took Heather's arm and they walked to the limo, where the driver was holding the door open. Heather climbed in and Jim walked around to the other side and entered the car beside her. Heather smiled and laid her head on Jim's shoulder. "Jim, you are spoiling me tonight. I should tell you to stop, but this is lovely."

"Get used to being spoiled, my princess. Only the best for my girl from now on." Jim kissed her head. He addressed the driver, "Are you familiar with our destination? Maurice's."

"Yes, sir. We should be there in 25 minutes," answered the driver. "I understand I am to wait outside for you and the lady once we arrive. Is that correct, sir?"

"Yes. Please put the divider up. We wish for some privacy. Only lower it once we have arrived at the restaurant."

"Very good, sir."

 **Sebastian's POV**

"God, I thought they would never leave," giggled Kate. "So, let's get started on that lasagna. I'm starving." She read through the recipe. "This is takes about 20 minutes to prep and then another hour to bake. I need a snack. How about you?"

"Yeah, let's see what Heather has laying around." They looked through the cabinets. Sebastian brought out the chocolate chip cookies from the night before. "Here we go. Cookies!"

They each grabbed two cookies and started to eat them. Sebastian ended up with a little bit of melted chocolate on the corner of his mouth. Kate started to tell him, but decided better. "Sebastian sit down over here for a minute," she said gesturing to a dining room chair. He sat down, and Kate straddled his lap and sat down. "You have a little chocolate on your mouth. Let me get that for you," she said gazing at him seductively. She licked the chocolate off the corner of his mouth and then traced her tongue lightly over his lips before settling in for a deep, passionate French kiss. Sebastian was surprised, but very into it. He wrapped his hands around Kate's waist and returned the kiss. He felt a sudden warmth and growth in his groin. He moved his hands up her back under her shirt and unhooked Kate's bra. Without breaking the kiss, Kate shimmied out of her bra, pulling it out her shirt sleeve. She moved her hands from either side of Sebastian's face to his belt buckle and tried furiously to unfasten it. Sebastian pulled away from the kiss just long enough to pull his and Kate's shirts off and drop them to the ground. He palmed Kate's left breast, rubbing her nipple between his thumb and forefinger.

"Sebastian, hmmm, yes," she sighed. Kate finally got Sebastian's complicated belt buckle undone and was unzipping his pants to release the beast inside. Sebastian stopped her. "Not here. I want you where we have all the room for we need for all the fun we are going to have." He picked her up and carried her upstairs with her legs wrapped around his waist. With each step, Kate's breasts jiggled and brushed teasingly against Sebastian's bare chest. When they arrived in Sebastian's room, he carefully threw her onto the bed and then stood next to the bed. Kate reached up to free his erection from its denim prison, but Sebastian smiled a slick smile and shook his head. "Ladies first." He reached down and licked and sucked Kate's right nipple while his right hand crept slowly towards her remaining clothing. He undid her pants and slipped his hand into her panties and slowly stroked her quivering mound.

Kate sucked in a deep breath. "OH SEBASTIAN! YES!"

Sebastian smiled appreciatively and stopped his ministrations. Kate looked over at him and he cocked his eyebrow at her. He stripped off his jeans and underwear in one swift movement. Kate was struck silent by what she saw. Sebastian's red, throbbing member had to be at least 10 inches long and a good 8 inches thick. It stood at a perfect 90-degree angle, like an obedient solider. Kate felt herself drawn to it like a magnet. She crawled up on her hands and knees and took hold of it. She stuck her tongue out and carefully, reverently collected the bead of pre-cum from the tip. She stared up at Sebastian through her eyelashes. "What may I do for you, sir?"

Sebastian walked over to his toiletry bag and pulled out a bottle of lube. "Oh, Katie, we are going to have so much fun tonight. Just you wait. I hope those cookies were enough because we are going to be too busy to eat much food for a while." Sebastian cooed and smiled his shark smile. Kate shuddered.

"First, why don't you lay back and just try to relax." Sebastian climbed onto the bed and between Kate's legs. He pushed them up, so that her knees were bent and relaxed off to the sides a bit. He buried his head at her split and explored her recesses with his tongue and fingers. Kate had never liked cunilingus, but realized that that was because she had never had it from Sebastian. Suddenly it was one of her new favorites. After three mind-blowing orgasms, Sebastian stopped and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "I take it that was satisfactory, madam?"

Kate sat up and kissed him. She could taste herself in his mouth and was surprised by how pleasant the taste was. "Your turn, my Lord." She tried to push Sebastian down on the bed, but he resisted. "No, no, as much as I would enjoy seeing what that pretty little mouth could do, I have something else in mind for tonight. I do want your help getting ready though. Open your hand." Kate held her hand out and Sebastian squirted a dollop of lube in her hand. "Stroke this onto my cock." Sebastian squeezed a little lube onto two of his fingers and began to stroke Kate's pussy slowly. After a moment, he said, "Okay are you ready?" Kate nodded. Sebastian picked Kate's legs up and wrapped them around his waist. He slowly eased his member into Kate's opening. "Stop me if I start to hurt you."

Sebastian got about ¾ of the way in before Kate bit her lip and got a look of panic in her eyes. Sebastian stopped and held still. "Is it too much? Would it be better if we changed positions?" Kate smiled and said, "No, it feels amazing. I just need a second to get used to you. You're a lot bigger than most guys. Not that I'm complaining!"

"Oh, thanks. But yeah, take your time. You feel amazing too, but I want this to be great for you, not painful." Sebastian started to stroke Kate's hair to relax her a bit. "You look so beautiful right now."

After a few seconds, Kate nodded and told Sebastian to keep going. He resumed slowly filling her until he was fully entrenched. The blonde started to slowly pull out and push back in, gently building up rhythm and quickening the pace. Kate was filled with bliss, except for the couple of times Sebastian went a smidge too deep and hit her cervix. Those times hurt, but she knew they were accidental and if this were to continue, could be worked on in the future. She could feel him start to crest just as she was, and they orgasmed simultaneously. Kate could feel Sebastian's hot cum filling her to brim as his cock finished convulsing inside her. He reached down and kissed her and rolled off her. He grabbed the box of tissues and offered it to her. Kate grabbed a few and tidied up and threw the used paper towards the trash. "Well, I must say that was better than lasagna any day. Wouldn't you agree, Sebastian?"

Sebastian smiled. "We probably should go at least collect our clothes from the kitchen. You know for Heather's sake. She would probably shit a brick if she knew we had sex in her perfect palace of a kitchen. I swear even for a girl, she is freakishly devoted to that room."

"Hey, what do you mean 'even for a girl.' Are you saying that women belong in the kitchen or something?" Kate eyed him suspiciously. "Because we 'girls' belong wherever we want to be. The boardroom, the courtroom, the OR, the military. We're pretty and we kick ass everywhere we go."

"No, no! That's not what I meant at all. Look, I'm all for women. I love women. Go girl power and all. Hillary 2016! Women rule and guys drool. Etc., etc. I just meant that Heather absolutely loves cooking and baking, and her kitchen is like her holy place. She would freak if she found out that we 'defiled' it by getting down in here. No women are awesome. I'm a total feminist!

"Okay, I just wanted to make sure I wasn't with some kind of male chauvinist over here. By the way, you are so cute when you're nervous." Kate giggled and kissed him. They walked downstairs and put their clothes back on. "Since we're down here, do you want to make that lasagna? I could use something to eat. What about you," asked Kate.

"Yeah, sounds good. Let's get the ingredients out and get started."

They worked in tandem getting the casserole prepared and in the oven. Sebastian set the timer on the oven. "Want to go watch some tv in the living room while this thing cooks?"

"Sure. What's on right now?"

"I don't know. Let's flip through some channels until we find something we like." Sebastian turned the tv on and sat down on the couch next to his date. He started flipping through station until he found an old 80's movie. "Oh man, I haven't seen this movie in forever. It's so good. It's like a spoof of Star Wars with Rick Moranis, Mel Brooks, John Candy, and Bill Pullman." It's so funny. Have you ever seen it?"

"No, it doesn't look familiar."

"Let me restart it. I think you'll really like it. It's super funny. And if you don't like it, I can think of something else we can do while we wait on the lasagna." He smiled seductively.

Post Script: Ok, trivia time: What movie are they watching? Whoever answers right gets a special shoutout in the next author note. Also, are you guys finally happy? Sebastian getting some and is happy! Thanks for being patient.


	19. Chapter 19

**Author's note: Congrats to Kittypawswrites for the right answer to the trivia question. It was Spaceballs. You're right. I did make it too easy. I'll have to challenge you guys more next time. Usual thanks to the usual suspects. A special un thank you to the vicious head cold I have right now. You're killing me, Smalls? (Oh, good trivia question: What is that quote from?) I'll try to write and post more often, but life has a nasty habit of getting in the way, so forgive me if there is some lag time. Same with responses to your reviews. I try to write back, but sometimes reality interferes.**

Chapter 19

Heather sat hip to hip with Jim in the limo. He wrapped his right arm around her and pulled her into him. "Are you excited, my dear?"

"Yes. Where are we going? You never told the name of the restaurant." Heather looked up into Jim's chocolate eyes.

"It's a surprise, but Seb tells me it's one you've been to before and enjoyed." Jim smiled and kissed the top of her head. "Relax and enjoy the night. It is going to be very special, I promise. You look amazing, love. I like that dress on you. The color really compliments your hair and skin color."

Heather smiled. "Thank you. It's Vivienne Westwood. She's a really great designer. I picked it up a few months ago when I was in New York for a medical conference. It was kind of a silly purchase. I didn't have anywhere to wear it, but it called out to me and I couldn't resist. Clothes are a weakness I'm afraid. I'm normally a jeans and t-shirt kind of girl, but sometimes I love nothing more than to dress up and look super girly. At work, I typically just wear scrubs because I never know when I'll get called into surgery, but occasionally, a girl just likes to get dolled up."

"I love Westwood. She's a weakness for me. She's lovely. She does most of my suits for me. I'll introduce you two sometime. I think you would like her."

Heather pulled back and just gaped at Jim. "You KNOW Vivienne Westwood? Personally!? Like you've talked to her face to face? Seriously? Oh, my God, Jim! That is amazing. What is she like?"

Jim chuckled. "Yeah, I've been to her house and she's been to my flat. Several times. I go to her Christmas party every year. Like I said, she's lovely. Very nice. Funny. Obviously, very creative. She's pretty down to earth actually. She likes to garden. She is a terrible cook, though. Poor thing barely knows how to boil water." Jim wrinkled his nose at the memory of the blueberry pie Viv had made one time. She had somehow bungled up the recipe and it was, by far, the worst thing he had ever eaten.

Heather tucked back into Jim's arms and marveled at the life he had. She couldn't help but feel a bit small in comparison to his accomplishments.

After a few minutes, Jim rubbed her arm. "Penny for your thoughts, love? You're being awfully quiet. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just feeling a little … I don't know … overwhelmed at all of this. Everything is happening so fast and I'm just trying to adjust. Don't worry. I'm happy. I am. Just a lot has happened in the past 48 hours. I'm dating a powerful, hot, smart, amazing man and tomorrow he'll be gone suddenly, and I'll be alone and I'm feeling a lot of stuff about that. I'm interviewing for a new job far away from everything I know in a couple weeks. A job that if I take it, I'll be able to see said awesome boyfriend a lot more often, but have to abandon everything I've built here. My plans to have a relaxing, fun few days with my best friend have been replaced by a whirlwind romance and … and … and being swept off my feet. This is … all very … daunting, I guess. I'm sorry, Jim. I'm so in my head right now. I know I should just breathe and enjoy the moment, but I just can't. It's so …" Heather trailed off.

"Hey, hey there. Relax. Take a breath, Kitten. It's been a little crazy for me too. Let's do this. Let's just focus on having a delicious meal at a great restaurant and then we'll go from there. Right now, let's just enjoy the drive to the restaurant and each other. Okay? The future will still be there later. Let's enjoy the moment. Would it help if I told you where we are going?"

Heather smiled shyly. "No. You're right. Let's just enjoy this moment. I want to be surprised. I trust you. Surprise me." She exhaled a big breath and nuzzled in closer to Jim's chest. She felt so safe and secure in Jim's arms. Life still existed, but being in his arms made Heather feel like nothing bad could ever happen as long as she had her Jim. In the ridiculously short time they had been together, Jim had completely stolen Heather's heart and she couldn't be happier. It was the unbelievable love you only read about in fairy tales.

As Jim held his girl, he felt a swell of emotions. He thought his heart would burst with the love he felt towards her. No one, not even his own family, ever got this close to him. He knew that his number one job in life was now to protect Heather for everything. She was his! His everything. Nothing and no one mattered nearly as much as her. "I would do anything, ANYTHING, for her," he thought to himself.

The remainder of the drive passed in silence. The car pulled up in front of the restaurant and stopped. "We're here, my dear," announced Jim.

"Morston's! Jim, I love this place. But, how did you get reservations? They are always booked for months in advance."

"Oh, honey, I have my ways. I'm glad you are pleased with my choice. Let's head in." Jim exited the limo and assisted Heather out. They entered the restaurant and Jim gave the hostess his name. She escorted them to a secluded table by a window overlooking the bay. Jim held a chair out for Heather and pushed her chair up to the table. He sat down opposite her and informed the hostess of his desire for the best wine the restaurant had to offer. She nodded her head and left the table.

"Jim, this is wonderful. Thank you." Heather smiled warmly at the raven-haired man across from her. The manager came to the table. "Mr. Moriarty, it is a pleasure to see you, sir. My name is Maurice. I am the manager. If there is anything I or my staff can do to make your evening more pleasurable, please don't hesitate to let me know," he simpered.

"Thank you, Maurice. I certainly will let you know if we need anything, but for now, you may go and check to see where our wine is."

"Of course, sir." The man backed away from the table and hurried off.

They both picked up their menus and quietly reviewed them. "Is there anything you would recommend," asked Jim.

"Well, what are you in the mood for? They have excellent prime rib. I've never had it, myself, but I've heard good things about it. I'm not a fan of prime rib. I think it is too fatty of a cut. I enjoy their crab cakes. I also like their salmon Florentine. I think I'm going to get the seafood alfredo though tonight."

"The crab cakes sound good. And I see they come with the asparagus risotto. I think I'll go with that."

"Sounds good, except for the asparagus. I've never been a fan of it. Kate loves it, though. She's tried to make it several ways for me, but it's still a no go for me. Kind of like brussel sprouts. People insist that if they are made right, they are delicious, but every time I've had them, they are repulsive. I suffered through them as a kid and promised myself I would never eat them as an adult. My dad loves them, and we would have them all the time." Heather wrinkled her nose at the memory of the pale green balls of overcooked bitterness.

"I completely agree with the brussel sprouts. They are horrible. Sebastian loves them, but he's not allowed to make them at my place."

"Yeah, Bash has tried a million times to make them for me, but I strictly forbid them in my house. They are on the same list as coconut and pineapple. Absolute no-gos."

"You don't like pineapple? I love it."

"Oh, I'm allergic. Coconut too. It causes me to go into anaphylactic shock. Even just a tiny bit. I don't even allow it in my house, just to be safe."

"Oh, I'll keep that in mind. No pineapple and coconut. So, I guess I'll have to cancel Pina Colada Tuesdays then."

"What!? Is that followed by Alcoholics Anonymous Wednesdays? I might have to come work for you then. Your office sounds fun."

The waiter approached and poured the wine. Jim drank a sample and nodded his approval. The waiter poured glasses for both of the guests and set the bottle on the table. "Welcome to Morston's. Are you ready to order?"

Heather and Jim placed their orders and the waiter left. "Would you like to come work for me? I'm sure I could find a position for you. What would you want to do? We don't really need a surgeon full time."

"Oh, honey. I was kidding. I don't think I could give up being a doctor. I love it too much and I'm good at it."

"What would you do if you couldn't be a doctor," asked Jim.

Heather thought for a minute. "I guess if I couldn't operate, I would continue teaching. That's a big part of my work and I do enjoy it most of the time. If I had never become a doctor, I don't know what I would be doing. I've wanted to be a doctor my entire life and never thought about being anything else. I guess it just never occurred to me that I could be anything else. What about you? If you weren't a whatever you are, what would you be doing?"

"I like to think of myself as a businessman first of all, but to answer your question, I would be an artist. A painter in particular. No one knows about it, but I used to paint. I haven't done that in a very long time."

"Why not? You enjoyed painting, right? So why did you stop? I would love to see some of your work. I bet it's really good. I do ceramics periodically. I like the artistic outlet sometimes. To be able to create something with my hands."

"I guess I could start painting again. I stopped because it didn't seem very manly. I guess building a business got in the way too. I had to make certain sacrifices to get where I am today, and my painting was one. I never really thought of restarting it. I guess I could. Would you model for me? I could paint you."

Heather blushed. "I'm sure you could find a better model than me. I've never modeled. I don't think I would do a very good job."

"No, I'm sure you would do great. You wouldn't have to do anything special. Just sit still for a little while."

"Well, I don't know. Maybe." Heather shook her head and looked out the window, embarrassed. "Tell me about your brother. Is he older? Younger? What's his name?"

"Beau and I are twins. He's older by 2 minutes. He used to work for me, but after he met his husband, he semi-retired from the firm and now is a stay at home dad and husband. He still helps out with the rare assignment here and there, but nothing that would interfere with parenthood. He's a great dad to my step-niece and nephew. We're pretty tight because of our childhood. He and his husband live just outside of London. I know you have two older sisters. Tell me about them."

"Catherine is 7 years older than me. She's married and has two boys. I don't really understand what she does for a living. It's something to do with college financial aid for the state. Something where she sits at a desk all day and does paperwork stuff. It sounds like hell to me. I need to constantly be moving and doing 80 different things at once, but I know she loves it, so hey, more power to her on that one. My other sister, Elizabeth, who I call Satan, because she's the embodiment of the demonic dark lord himself, is an OB nurse and is 4 years older than me. She's on her fourth marriage because she learned how to be in a healthy honest relationship from our dad, so she's got that going for her. She has my one niece and my other nephew. Miraculously, they have the same father, her first husband, who is a saint and still a friend of mine. I actually like him significantly more than my sister. I like all of her husbands more than her. Of course, I like cleaning the cats' litter boxes more than I like my sister. My parents are divorced, thankfully. My mom is remarried, and my dad is going through a string of revolving girlfriends who are now trending towards half my age. That's just creepy. Thanks for asking. Also, they are all dumber than a box of hammers. I think if you combined all of the IQs of the last 10, it might get you into the low double digits. I know full on well what he's getting out of those relationships and it's not scintillating conversation. I've stopped bothering to learn their names. I just assign them a number. It's easier that way. I also just call them all 'Tits McGee.' Like Tits McGee #1, Tits McGee #2, etc. Yes, to their faces and my dad's. It kind of annoys him, but deep down, he knows that I'm right. These are not long-term prospects." Heather smiled and took a sip of her wine. "This wine is wonderful. Excellent choice, dear. You said your brother is married. What does his husband do?"

"Davin is a chef and owns a restaurant. Beau and I went there when it first opened and that's where they met. Beau particularly enjoyed his meal, so he asked to speak to the chef. Their relationship kind of blossomed from a friendship to a romantic one and they got married two years ago. Davin had a daughter from his first marriage and they used a surrogate for my nephew. Davin's first wife left him for her best friend. Turns out she's a lesbian and Dav's gay, so it sort of worked out well for everyone."

"How old is your niece?"

"Caitlin is 8. Fionn is 6 months old. Biologically, he's Beau's." Jim looked up and noticed the waiter approaching. "Looks like our food is here."

The waiter set the plates on the table before the duo and asked if he could provide them with anything else. Both answered in the negative and began eating. Jim studied Heather as they ate. Finally, Heather put her fork down. "Jim, you've been watching me this entire time. What is up? I'm getting a little paranoid now." She smiled a nervous smile. Jim smiled back. "Just can't believe this is all real. You and me together. I just never imagined it all."

Heather nervously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Me, either. But you have to stop staring at me. How are your crab cakes?"

"They're good. Your alfredo smells terrific."

"Do you want a bite? It's so good. I didn't think about it, but I'm going to have garlic breath after this. I'm sorry. I probably should have ordered something else."

"Don't worry. I'm sure your breath will be fine. Plus, I have gum if you need it. I never leave the house without it."

The waiter ensured that the wine did not run out of the course of dinner. The service was prompt, but not sycophantic. The remainder of the meal was a leisurely, romantic exchange of information between the two. After Jim paid the bill, they left the restaurant and entered the limo.

"What would you like to do now, my dear? The night is still young," asked Jim. "Sebastian said that you like to dance. Are there any good clubs around here? Or did you have something else in mind? It's your city. Tell me what's good around here."

"Well, there is this one little jazz club not too far from here. Blue Tiffany's. Do you like jazz?"

"I do like jazz. That sounds great." Jim directed the driver to drive them to the jazz club. Heather kissed Jim's lips and trailed her fingertips up and down his thigh. Jim unfastened Heather's seat belt and pulled her on top of him. He began running his hands through her hair and distributing kisses up and down her neck and upper chest. Heather reached down and held Jim's face in her hands, kissing him deeply. Jim's hands began searching Heather's body for her most tender spots.

The driver's voice interrupted them. "Sir, madam, we have arrived at Blue Tiffany's."

Jim's eyes turned jet black for a moment and he said icily, "Thank you. We'll be right there." He stifled a groan. "Kitten, we will definitely be picking this thread up later, but now let's go listen to some jazz."

Heather clenched her fists and sighed. "Do we really have to? I kind of like the music we were making here."

"I know. But I promise, this is not over by far." Heather slipped off Jim's lap and pulled herself together. The driver opened the car door and Jim exited, followed by Heather. They entered the club and found a table near the stage. Jim rearranged the chairs so that they were sitting side by side as opposed to across from each other. They sat down, and Jim wrapped his arm around Heather. He noticed that her skin felt a little cold. "Are you okay, love? You feel a little chilly."

"It is a little cold in here. And this dress isn't the warmest thing I own. But I'll be okay."

Jim slipped his jacket off and wrapped it around Heather's shoulders. "Here my sweet. I can't have you catch your death just to listen to some music. Do you need anything else?"

Heather smiled. "No, baby. I'm good now. Thank you." Heather snuggled against her paramour and took a deep breath, inhaling the intoxicating mixture of his cologne and pheromones. She felt a wonderful flutter in her stomach at the aroma and her smile deepened. She felt safe and warm and like the world was exactly right. She moaned softly with happiness. She rested her head on Jim's shoulder and closed her eyes for a moment. She wanted to capture this moment in her memory in perfect detail forever.

Jim wrapped his arm back around her and pulled her tight to him again. He smelled the light scent of strawberries in her hair, combined with her perfume. "Oh, Chanel #5. My kitten has classic taste," he thought to himself. The club manager came on stage after a few minutes to introduce that evening's entertainment.

"Ladies and gentleman, thank you for joining us tonight at Blue Tiffany's. Baltimore's premier jazz club. Tonight, we have a real treat for you all. Our group tonight is fresh off their international tour. Ladies and gentlemen, I present Tommy Patrino and the Blue Notes." Polite applause followed as the group started their first song. The opening notes to "Fly Me to The Moon" were heard as Heather turned to Jim and said, "I love this song. It's one of my favorites."

Jim noticed that a few other couples were getting up and starting to dance. He stuck his hand out to Heather and asked, "May I have this dance, my lady?"

Heather giggled and stood up. "As you wish, sir."

They walked out to the center of the dance floor and joined the other couples. It was obvious that both were skilled dancers and they attracted the attention of quite a few of the audience. Neither of them noticed this of course. They were too busy wrapped up in their own two-person world. The song ended, and they embraced and kissed elegantly. The next song was a slower song and Jim wrapped his arms around Heather, as she rested her head on his right shoulder. They swayed together, lost in the love they had for each other. They danced several more songs before Heather suggested they stop to get something to drink.

Jim walked Heather back to their table and then he proceeded to the bar. He ordered a vodka and tonic for himself and a fuzzy navel for Heather. He paid for the drinks and started to walk back to the table with them. He noticed that there was a short, fat, blonde man sitting at the table with Heather. She looked annoyed, but he looked oblivious to her disdain. When he was about 10 feet away from the table, he saw the interloper put his hand on Heather's shoulder. Before he could take another step, Heather had grabbed the man's hand and bent it so far back that the top of his hand touched the top of his forearm. She shouted, "I SAID NO!" The man cried out in pain and fell to the ground. Heather stood up and looked around for Jim. She saw him and rushed over to him.

"Jim, I'm sorry. But that man wouldn't leave me alone. He came up right after you left and kept hitting on me. I was polite at first and told him I was here with someone, but he kept insisting. I got really rude and told him to get away, but then he tried to pull my dress strap down and I snapped. I don't like people touching me without my permission. I got really scared." She started to cry. The club manager and a two security guards came up at that moment. Jim put the drinks down on a nearby table and wrapped Heather in his arms. "It's okay, baby. I'm here. I'm sorry I left you. Are you okay? Did he hurt you? Did he touch you anywhere else? I have you now. No one's going to touch you ever again. You're safe now. Jim's here. I have you."

The club manager spoke up, "Sir, ma'am, could you please come with us now? We have some questions for you right now."

Jim's eyes turned jet black and he hissed, "My girlfriend has just been attacked and you have QUESTIONS for us? Where was your security team? How could you allow this to happen? This is unacceptable!"

The club manager looked terrified. "Sir, please come to my office. We have several witnesses to the event and we are getting statements from everyone. Miss, are you okay? Do you need an ambulance?"

Heather shook her head. Jim and Heather followed the manager back to his office.

Once everyone was seated, the manager asked Heather what had happened. She told him the story through tears. Jim sat beside her, holding her in his arms. His eyes remained coal black and shot daggers at everyone who dared meet his gaze. He had already formulated a plan to handle this in his way and was waiting for Heather to finish her statement so he could start activating his men. "There will be literal hell to pay for all of this," he thought to himself.

Heather finished her version of events. The club manager looked at the one security guard and he nodded. "Yes, sir, that is exactly what I saw. Like I said, I was initially about 15 feet away when I noticed the perpetrator approach Dr. Weire. I had a bad feeling about him so I got closer, probably 5 feet away, and heard the entire conversation. I was about to step in when Dr. Weire defended herself. Ma'am, are you sure you are okay? I can imagine that this was a very upsetting event for you and you may want to talk to someone."

Heather shook her head. "No, I'm fine. I'm a little shaken up. I assume the police have been called. I'm guessing that I will have to talk to them. I'll want to call my lawyer first."

"Yes, the police were called by the man who was injured. They are in the other room interviewing him. I'll go check to see if they want to talk to you now. Please wait here."

The club manager left the room. The bouncer said, "Ma'am, I can't speak officially for the club, but for me personally, I support what you did. I'll back you up. I saw the whole thing. He was completely unjustified. I have a little girl and while I hope she never has to deal with that kind of thing, but if she did, I would hope that I've raised her right to protect herself like that. I'm sorry that I didn't step in sooner."

Heather thanked him for his kind words and support. She was rather nervous about the legal trouble she might face. She had certainly broken at least 1 or 2 bones in the man's wrist and/or arm. It was going to be a complicated surgery and extended recovery. It was very possible that he had permanent nerve damage. She wondered if she had overreacted. Maybe she should have just kept saying no politely and hoping that he got the clue. Maybe she should have just waited until Jim got back and let him handle it. Then she chastised herself for trying to talk herself into being a damsel in distress. She was a strong, independent woman and didn't need Jim or any man to fight her battles for her. That man HAD crossed a major boundary. Several boundaries. She said no, several times. Even one "no" should have been enough. Then he put his hands on her. No, he deserved that response. Just because she was dressed attractively didn't mean that anyone had the right to expect anything from her. Her body, her choice, right?

The club manager came back in with a police detective in tow. He introduced the detective to the inhabitants of the room. The detective sat down and took everyone's statements and asked some additional questions. After about an hour, the detective said, "Well, Dr. Weire, we still have to finish this investigation, but it seems pretty cut and dry to me. It sounds like the assailant brought this on himself. I can't promise you anything of course, but I seriously doubt that you will face any sort of charges for your actions tonight. Looks like a pretty clear-cut case of self-defense. Here is my card if you think of anything else you need to tell me. I'll be in touch within a few days to let you know where this is headed. Do you have any questions?

"No, sir. Thank you. I look forward to hearing from you soon." Heather's voice trembled a little.

The detective left the room. Jim spoke up, "Heather, I need to go visit the restroom. I'll be back in a couple minutes. Will you be okay if I leave you here?"

"Oh, yeah, yeah, go ahead, honey. I can stay here for few minutes, right?" She looked at the club manager, who nodded. "Then I think I want to go home. I'm feeling kind of tired now."

"No problem, love. Like I said, I'll just be a few minutes. I'll be right back." Jim gave Heather a long, tight hug and a quick kiss. He rubbed her back for a few seconds and then left the room. Once out I the hallway, he pulled his phone out of his pants pocket. He hit a few buttons and said, "Vacation is over. We have work to do."


	20. Chapter 20

**Author's note: Thank you to BBC, Mofitiss, ACD, et al for the fun imaginary playmates. Thank you to my husband for being my sex monkey and the one thing in this one that keeps me grounded. This chapter we're going to pick up where we left Bash and Kate and then merge up to Jim's call following the club incident. Then we will be back into one story.**

Chapter 20

Kate and Sebastian watched Spaceballs until the timer went off in the kitchen. They got up and Sebastian pulled the dish out of the oven. He set it on the stovetop, while Kate grabbed plates and silverware. "Wow, that smells delicious. We're pretty good cooks, Sebastian," said Kate. She cut out a sizeable piece with the server and placed it on a plate. She handed the plate to Sebastian and cut a smaller piece for herself. Sebastian grabbed two beers out of the refrigerator and handed one to Kate.

They walked out into the living room and plopped down on the couch. Resuming the movie, they dug into the food. They finished the movie, pausing it a few times to get more food or another drink. After the movie ended, they were stuffed. They pried themselves off the couch and cleaned up the kitchen. The leftovers were placed in the fridge and the dishes loaded into the dishwasher.

"Ugh, I'm too full to even think," groaned Kate. "What do you want to do now? I wouldn't mind another round of slap and tickle, but I need some time to digest or I'll be sick. How about you?"

"I second all that. Want to watch another movie?"

"Sure, what do you have in mind?"

"Well, I picked the last one, so it's your turn." Sebastian handed her the remote. She flipped through the channel guide, but didn't see anything that interested her. "Let me see what movies Heather has." Together they scanned the alphabetized movie selection along the wall. Kate saw one that she liked. "Hey, here's a good one. Do you like superhero movies?"

"Yeah, some. What's this about?"

"It's called Dr. Strange. It's from the Marvel Universe. Heather and I went to go see this opening night. It's really good. It's about a doctor who gets in a really bad car accident and has to stop being a doctor and goes to the far East and gets a bunch of mystical powers. Does that sound cool?"

"Okay, let's give that a try. Pop it in."

Kate started the blu-ray and settled back on the couch into Sebastian's arms. The movie started and Sebastian was immediately hooked. He liked the martial arts and found himself rooting for the bad guys. As the movie progressed and the character of Dr. Strange appeared, Sebastian had an odd feeling of déjà vu. "That actor reminds me of someone. Who is it? It's not the voice, but the body and the way he carries himself." When the character removed his surgical mask and cap, it hit him. "Fucking Holmes," Sebastian thought to himself. "Kate, who's that actor? The one playing Dr. Strange. He looks familiar."

"Oh, that's Benedict Cumberbatch. He's a British actor. Heather fancies him a bit. Thinks he's pretty hot. I think he looks like an otter and Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy had a baby. Not really my type. Something about his face just isn't right. But Heather practically gets the vapors when she sees a picture of him."

Sebastian vaguely remembered Heather saying something about an actor with that name or a name similar to that and how he was "dreamy." He didn't see it. All he saw was bloody Holmes with his smarmy, sarcastic face that just begged to be punched. "What a feckin' tosser. I wish Jim had let me just wing him a bit back at the pool. Just a little shot in the arm. He would have recovered fine eventually. But, no! It wasn't part of the plan! The holy, bloody, stinkin' plan. Always gotta stick with the plan. No room for variation. Even if it would have been fun." Sebastian sulked bitterly. He was surprisingly disturbed by how much his friend's appreciation for this actor annoyed him. "He's an actor, not the real Holmes, an actor, Moran. Pull yourself together," Sebastian thought to himself. He realized that Kate was talking to him.

"Seb, did you hear a word I said? You were muttering something to yourself. What did you say? Something about a pool and a plan. What was that all about?"

"Oh, nothing. He just reminds me of this jerk I know back home. Real annoying know-it-all. Thinks he's hot shit. Real pain in the ass kind of guy. But, yeah, you're right. Something is weird about his face. And his body looks like it doesn't know how to work together. What a doofus!" Sebastian laughed. "C'mere, let's watch this dumbass together." He stretched his legs across the couch and pulled Kate into his lap. He wrapped his arms around her as she leaned into his chest. He felt a certain stirring in his lower regions and hoped he wasn't being too obvious. "Patience, buddy. Both of us need to settle our stomachs before we go again. But, soon. Soon, you'll get round two." Sebastian smiled to himself.

Kate settled in against Sebastian. She could feel his growing erection against her lower back. "Wow, someone's eager. Just wait a little longer. I have a few things in mind for you Mister. If round one was all for me, round two is going to be all yours," Kate thought to herself lasciviously. She rested her head against the blonde's chest. She felt like the cat who discovered the cream.

The longer they watched the movie, the more comfortable and sleepy they became. Kate fell asleep first. Sebastian started to feel his head bob forward and his eyelids droop, when his phone rang. Kate sprang forward, suddenly awake. She reached down and handed Sebastian his phone. Both of them stood up as Sebastian answered the phone. Before he could get out a hello, he heard Jim's voice. "Vacation's over. We have work to do."

"Yes, sir. Understood. Where are you?" Sebastian started to look for his socks and shoes, while Kate looked on with a puzzled look. "Understood. I will await your arrival shortly." Sebastian listened for a moment. "Yes, sir. I will do that and have everything prepared when you arrive. Is there anything else I may do for you at this time, sir?" Sebastian paused. "Very good." He hung up the phone. Addressing Kate, "There's been an emergency with Heather. She's okay, but very upset. She and Jim will be arriving back here shortly. He has asked that you stay at least until they get back in case Heather wants to talk. He and I will be having a closed-door meeting as soon as they arrive. I'm sorry to cut our night short, but duty calls. I had a really great time. I hope you did too."

"Oh, my God! What happened? Did Heather get hurt? What's going on, Sebastian?"

"Jim did not specify what happened, just that there was a situation and we would need to have a meeting regarding a plan to handle it. He said that Heather was safe, but upset. Jim controls the information that he gives out. I will know more after we meet, but I will most likely not be allowed to share. Heather will probably be your best source, although Jim may have coached her on what to say and what not to say. He wants me to set up, as he put it, 'a comfortable environment for Heather,' which I take to mean I will be making some hot chocolate and smores for her as well as ensuring that she has access to her valium. Can I count on your help with her?"

"Yes, of course. She's my friend too. I'll get everything out for the cocoa and the smores. Do you know where she keeps her valium?"

"Yeah, it's in her bedside table. I'll bring them downstairs to the kitchen. Try to get her to take one with her hot chocolate. But don't put it in her hot chocolate. She would be furious if she thought we were trying to secretly drug her. Her trust issues, you know."

"Obviously." Kate went into the kitchen, while Sebastian hurried up the stairs and into Heather's bedroom. He grabbed the pill bottle and closed the drawer. On his way out, he saw a framed picture of her at 4 years old riding a merry-go-round pony. Her coppery red hair hung in pigtails and shone like a brand-new penny in the sunlight and her crooked grin and deep dimples took up over half her face. She looked carefree and happy and Sebastian's heart pained at the thought of this princess, his princess, being anything, but as joyful as she was in that picture. Whatever had happened, whoever had hurt her would pay the ultimate price. He exited the room and descended the steps. He took the pills in to the kitchen and set them down next to Kate. His phone pinged. "Five minutes out," read the message from Jim. Sebastian relayed the message to Kate and walked back into the living room. He opened the front door, but kept the storm door closed. He kept watch for the limo and would activate the gates as soon as it started to pull in. Four minutes later, he saw the headlights and dialed in the security code. The limo paused while the gates opened fully and then pulled through and parked at the top of the driveway. Jim was out of the car before it had fully stopped and was all but carrying Heather out of the vehicle bridal style. Sebastian came charging through the door. "Jim, is she injured? Do you need help carrying her? Kate's inside making her hot chocolate and smores. They're her comfort food and we thought she might want them right now."

"Sebastian, she's not physically injured. Just very upset. I'll explain more when we get inside. Can you help her inside while I finish out here?" Sebastian picked Heather up and carried her inside. "Hey there, Kitten. I'm here. I've got you. What happened, princess? Are you ok? Katie's making you some hot chocolate and smores. You two can talk while Jim and I have a meeting." Sebastian set Heather down on the couch and called out to Kate. "Is the cocoa ready yet? I have her out here on the couch. She's not physically hurt."

Kate brought a plate of smores out and set them down on the coffee table. "Hey, love. Here's some smores. The hot chocolate will be ready in a minute." She sat down and put her arm around her friend. "Do you want to talk sweetie? What happened?"

Heather looked up with heavily fatigued eyes. "I'm kind of tired. Where's Jim? He was just here." She rubbed her forehead wearily. "Can we head up to my room? I want to get out of this dress and in to something else. I'm just … tired."

Kate looked up at Sebastian with a worried appearance. "Yeah, sure. Come on. I'll grab the smores and we'll head up. Sebastian, can you grab the hot chocolate for us and bring it up please? Thanks."

Kate led her friend upstairs and into her bedroom. Sebastian came up a moment later with two mugs of steaming cocoa and set them down. "Jim and I are going to be in his room if you guys need anything. Just knock and wait until one of us opens the door." He shot a look of extreme concern towards Kate and gestured with his eyes towards Heather who was sitting on the floor, still in her dress. Kate raised her hands to say, "I got this."

Sebastian turned and walked down the hall to Jim's room. Jim had changed into a pair of pajamas and was pacing the floor, muttering to himself.

"Jim, what the hell happened? Heather looks like she's been through hell. Did something go wrong at the restaurant?"

Jim reviewed the events of the night using some particularly colorful language and, more than once, slipping in Gaelic. Sebastian was both incensed at the turn of events and quite impressed that no one had died yet.

"Sebastian, you know what needs to be done of course. That motherfucker who dared lay his paw on my queen must die. I'm pleased that she broke his wrist, but that is simply not enough for him. She is MINE and I don't share! That club manager needs to be punished as well. As does the entire security team. My queen should never have been placed in that level of danger. How are you doing with the assignment I already gave you? Do we have a security team in place? When are the cameras and wires going in? Don't fail me, Moran. I will not tolerate failure right now."

"The surveillance here in the home and at her office will be installed tomorrow. Here while she is taking us to the airport. Her office first thing in the morning. She is getting an oil change on Saturday. I bribed the one mechanic that she always goes to to let our guys place surveillance then. I have three guys right now for medium range security. I obviously have not had time to talk to her about hiring personal security, but I think that with tonight's events, I can probably flip her thinking towards doing it. I will talk to her in the morning. Perhaps you should join us for that little extra oomph."

Jim nodded his head. "I want the guy who attacked her is named Gary Johnson. I want him dead. Tonight. Make it as painful as possible. Are there any warehouses or places around here where you can work? Get me information on the club manager and security team. Family, friends, weaknesses. I will develop a plan after I know more. Who do we have locally?"

Sebastian thought for a moment. "We don't have anyone here in Baltimore, but depending on what you want done, I can assign a few guys to travel here for work. Johansson and Kaserov just came back from assignments. The Mick is available if you're leaning towards arson."

"Yeah, that sounds good. Burn the club down. With the manager and head of security in it. Wait 1 week, so it's not so obvious. Have Mick make it look electrical. You need to get ready now. Mr. Johnson is in surgery now. Take care of him. Make sure he suffers and knows why. He's at Heather's hospital. Speaking of which, how is she? Is Kate up there with her?"

"Yeah, Kate is up there now. She made her smores and cocoa for her. She's going to try to get her to take a valium and hopefully get some sleep. Heather looks like hell. When I brought the hot chocolate up, she was sitting on the floor still in her dress silent. She looked completely empty. I hope Kate can get her to open up some. If I didn't have to go take care of this guy, I would go in there, but it looks I'm going to be busy for the better part of the night." Sebastian bit his lip and was quiet for a moment, trying to think of how to word his next statement. "Jim, with all due respect, maybe you should let her sleep alone tonight. If you are in there, she might feel like she needs to … um … entertain … you to make you … you know happy despite how she feels. She tends to be a bit of a people pleaser and I'm not sure that … she should be … pleasing …" Sebastian kind of trailed off.

"No, I understand what you are saying. I agree. I'll offer to spend the night with her, but carefully turn down any romantic gestures. She needs to feel safe, not sexy tonight. I want her to feel secure and safe. I want her to know that I am here for her for everything, not just the sex and good times. She's too important to me. I want to protect her for all the bad in the world. I'm mad at myself for leaving her alone tonight. I thought she would be okay, but I was wrong. Then this horrible thing happened. I just can't forgive myself. It's my fault that she was in danger. I should have just flagged down a waitress and placed the order, but I didn't. It's unforgivable, really."

"Um, boss, for what it's worth, I think you are being too hard on yourself. There was no way for you to know that that could have happen. You said you were only gone for a couple minutes, right? It's not like you hung around the bar for 20 or 30 minutes or ignored her. You went to go get a couple drinks and then headed right back. It's totally normal. Unfortunately, slimy, bottom-feeding guys are everywhere and wait around patiently for opportunities. You can't be connected at the hip to her every second of every day. And on the upside, she protected herself. She didn't get physically hurt. Yeah, she's upset, but physically okay. Sexually okay. She's a tough cookie. She looks like all flowers and sunshine, but like you saw tonight, she can kick some ass if she has to. She'll come through this okay, I promise. She just needs a little time."

Jim sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Maybe you're right, Seb? This is brand-new territory for me. I never thought I would actually love someone and I just feel lost without a map here. You know me. Normally, I have an answer for everything, but right now, this feels totally foreign. I just love her so much and I can't stand to see her hurting, even for a second. I just know that when I saw that man touch her, all I wanted to do was rip him to pieces with my bare hands. I actually saw red. When she bent his hand back, it was actually very hot. She was so animalistic and raw. Just for a second. Then I heard her voice and the pain and panic in it and I got so angry again. I don't even know what I did with the drinks. Suddenly she was in my arms and the drinks weren't. It was crazy."

"I know. Love, especially with Heather, makes a man crazy. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt to prove it. Like I said, she's nothing like what you would expect and that's why you love being around her. She's a walking bundle of contradictions. On anyone else, it would drive you far away, but somehow, it works for her. I can't explain it. I gave up trying a long time ago. I'm just along for the ride. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go visit a man about his death." Sebastian left the room and walked down the hall to Heather's bedroom. Knocking on the door, he called out to her, "Kitten, it's me. Can I come in?"

Kate opened the door. "Hey, she's in the shower, but she should be done soon. Come on in." Sebastian walked in and sat down on the bed. "How's she doing?"

"She's upset, understandably. She's concerned about any legal trouble she might be in, despite what the detective told her. Also, she knows that even if criminal charges aren't brought, this guy could still sue her. She's embarrassed. She's worried that Jim's mad at her. She's scared that Jim's going to dump her because she embarrassed him. She's upset because this guy touched her, and you know how she is with personal space. She didn't want any of the smores and only drank a few tiny sips of the hot chocolate, which worries me because she never refuses either one of them. I did convince her to take a valium after her shower, so that's a partial victory I suppose. I'm debating whether I should call Dr. Sullivan in the morning to give him a heads up in case she needs to get in to see him sooner than her next scheduled appointment. I don't want to interfere, but she is pretty upset and might need to see him for a little extra help. What do you think? Should I call him or just let it go?"

"I don't know. How's her valium supply? Does she have enough to get through the next several days or will she need a refill soon? What about her other meds?"

"She's good on everything except her migraine meds, but her family doctor prescribes those not her psychiatrist. Even those she has about 3 weeks left, so if she calls in a refill request to the pharmacy soon, she'll be fine."

"Okay. Let's hold off calling Sullivan for right now. Jim and I are returning home tomorrow, so I'll need you to be my eyes on the ground if you don't mind. If you think she needs you to step in and make the call, go ahead. Try to get her to call him, but if she just won't and you think she needs it, go ahead. If she gets mad, blame me. Tell her I told you to do it. I can take her temper tantrums. It won't be the first and it probably won't be the last. I have to run out and take care of something tonight. I had a really great time tonight. I'm sorry it ended this way. Here's my number. I'd love if we talked some more at least. I don't make it over here very often and I can't imagine you're in the UK on a regular basis, but if we're ever in the same area at the same time, I'd love to see you again." Sebastian blushed a bit as he wrote his number down and handed it to Kate.

Kate grabbed a piece of scrap paper and wrote down her number. "Yeah, I had a good time tonight too. Here's my number. Do you ever FaceTime? We could do that sometime. I would love to see you again."

"Yeah, Heather and I FaceTime usually at least once a week or so, so I'm sure I can squeeze you in. My schedule is a little crazy, but I'll text you sometime to set up a time that we are both available." Sebastian smiled awkwardly. He gave Kate a big hug and kissed her softly on the lips. "I'll see you later." He walked out of the room and into his, smiling ear to ear.

Sebastian changed his clothes into something appropriate for the task ahead. He grabbed his supplies. He walked into Jim's room and let him know that he was leaving and would be back later with an action report. He asked Jim if he needed anything before he left. Jim shook his head and reminded Sebastian of the importance of this mission. Sebastian nodded and left the room. He saw Kate and Heather in the hallway, carrying the dishes down the stairs.

"Bash, where are you going? It's late, honey."

"I have to go handle something, Kitten, but I'll be back soon. How are you feeling? Do you need anything while I'm out?"

"No, I'm fine. What are you going to go do? It's really late."

Sebastian sighed, "Kitten, octopus. Okay? Octopus. But I won't be gone long, I promise. Jim's here if you need anything. He's in his room. And if all goes right, I'll be back in a couple hours. Come here." Sebastian enveloped Heather in a warm, comforting hug. "I'm so sorry things went bad for you tonight. But you know, I would do anything for you, right? So would Jim. He loves you more than anything in this world. You're our Baby Girl. We will never let anything bad happen to you again. I promise. We'll talk some more in the morning. I want you to go to sleep now and get some really good restful sleep, okay?"

"Ok, Bash. I love you too. Be careful and stay safe." The trio walked down the stairs. Kate and Heather walked into the kitchen and Sebastian exited the house.


	21. Chapter 21

**Author's note: The previous chapter got long, so I'm splitting it in two. Usual thanks to all.**

Chapter 21

Sebastian walked to Heather's car and slid into the driver's seat. He started the car and pulled down the driveway, exiting the property. On the drive to the hospital, he reviewed the plan in his head. When he was approximately 3 blocks from the hospital, he parked the car and got out. After engaging the security system, he walked confidently towards the health campus. After a few minutes, he entered the main building. He walked to the Surgical Waiting Unit and looked at the board for the target's last name. Seeing that he was in still in surgery, Sebastian sat down patiently and pretended to read a magazine. He kept an eye on the board for any change in the man's status. After about 30 minutes, he noticed that the man had been moved to PACU. A few moments later, a nurse came in and called out, "Family for Johnson. Any family for G. Johnson." Sebastian stood up and slipping a mask of concern on his face, said, "Here. I'm his brother Mike. How is he? Is he awake yet?"

The nurse smiled and said, "Come this way, sir. I'll update you on his condition on the way."

Sebastian stood and followed the nurse out the door. "So, ma'am is my brother okay. I heard he was attacked at a nightclub, but they didn't tell what exactly happened. How was he hurt? Did they catch the person who attacked him?"

"Well, I don't know the whole story. You'll have to talk to the police and your brother to find that out, but I can tell you that he had a compound fracture of his ulna and radius. Those are the two lower arm bones. A compound fracture is when the bones are broken and puncture the skin. The orthopedic surgeon repaired those. His hand, wrist, and lower arm are in a cage to ensure that those bones set and heal properly. I'll warn you. It looks worse than it actually is, so don't be frighten when you see him. He's not totally awake yet. He's still under some pretty heavy effects of the anesthesia, but he is breathing on his own, so that's good. You might find that he's a little silly and not making a lot of sense right now. That's very common with anesthesia. He also had some ligament, tendon, and nerve damage with this injury. It is possible that he may need more surgery to fix that, but we don't know right now. The unit we are entering right now is called the PACU, which stands for the Post Anesthesia Care Unit. It is where everyone goes right after surgery, so we can very closely monitor them until the anesthesia has pretty much worn off. Most people stay about an hour or two. I believe he is going to be admitted to the 3rd floor after he leaves us. I don't know which room exactly, but 3 Northwest is our Orthopedic Unit, so I expect he will be placed there. Are you ready to see your brother, Mr. Johnson?"

"Yes, please. Thank you so much for your help. You're so kind to explain all of this to me. I'm just so worried about him. Will he be okay after all of this? I'm afraid it's just the two of us now. Our parents died several years ago, and we just have each other."

"I send the doctor in to talk to you in a bit. He can give you more information about the long-term effects of this kind of injury. But don't worry too much. Miracles can happen with physical therapy and good patient effort." The nurse pulled the curtain back and called to Gary, "Mr. Johnson, you have a visitor. Your brother is here." She closed the curtain behind Sebastian.

Gary stared blearily at Sebastian. "Who are you? I don't have a brother. Nurse," he mumbled reaching for his call bell.

Sebastian took the call bell out of the man's reach and said, "Gary, what are you saying? It's me, Mike. Oh, that anesthesia must really be doing a number on you. Poor guy! Forgetting your own big brother, silly guy! Just lay back and relax. Let that stuff wear off and you'll be right as rain soon enough."

He leaned in close to the man, "You fucked up big, motherfucker. When a lady says no, you leave. Especially when it's the boss's girl. You laid your filthy dirty paws on a classy, quality woman who is so beyond your league it's unbelievable. You made her feel unsafe, now I'm going to make you unsafe. Say goodbye, Gary. I'm going to enjoy this. You, however, will not."

Sebastian closed the rollerball on the morphine drip and reached into the cage and began flicking the pins with his fingers. Gary screamed out in pain. Two nurses came hurrying into the curtained area. "What happened?" They immediately began checking the patient. Sebastian had already slipped the mask of concern back on his face and had reopened the flow of morphine. "I don't know. He started screaming about dolphins." Gary mumbled out, "This man … is not … my brother … He's trying to kill … me … help."

Sebastian smiled sympathetically at the nurses, "Poor guy. That anesthesia really is something, huh? He was just saying something about the dolphins attacking him a minute ago. Then he started screaming and trying to pull the cage off his arm. It's okay, Gary. The dolphins can't get you. You're at the hospital. There are no dolphins here. You're safe. Just lay back and rest. That thing is on your arm because you just had surgery and it's protecting your arm. You have to leave it alone. But Big Brother Mike is here. I'll protect you. Like I always do." The younger nurse gently squeezed Sebastian's bicep. "Yeah, people can get a little wild while under anesthesia. Do you want someone in here with you until he's a little more lucid?"

"No, I'll keep an eye on him. I'm sure he'll be fine soon. Thank you, though. Y'all are so kind to worry about us. I'll hit his call bell if we need anything." The nurses left the area and closed the curtains behind them.

Sebastian stopped the morphine again and leaned down right to Gary's ear. "Naughty, naughty, Gary. Now I really have to punish you. Sebastian disconnected the morphine from Gary's iv line. "You won't be needing this anymore." He placed a piece of electric tape across Gary's mouth. "This should help keep you quiet." He pulled out a small roll-up bag and set it on the bed beside Gary's left leg. Sebastian pulled the heart monitor electrodes off of Gary and placed them on himself. He pulled the first syringe out of the bag. He injected it into the iv line. Gary turned red and his jugular vein popped out and began throbbing at a rapid rate. Sebastian worked to remain calm, despite the joy he was feeling. "What you are feeling right now, Gar, is profound tachycardia. Your heart rate is probably somewhere in the neighborhood of 250, 260. It's a lot for your heart to handle. Can you feel the strain? Kind of hurts, doesn't it? Let me fix that for you." Sebastian picked up the next syringe and injected it into the tubing. Gary's red face quickly went ghostly white and his eyes closed. "How's that, big guy? Heart's not beating so fast now, huh? In fact, it's barely beating at all. That feels different, doesn't it." Sebastian reached down and took Gary's pulse. After a full minute's count, he got 24. "Do you feel a little light-headed? Yeah, that would be because your blood pressure is barely enough to pump blood up to your brain. Hands and feet feel a little chilly? Again, your blood pressure is barely strong enough to pump to the vital organs, much less to the extremities, but hey, at least you're not having that heart attack anymore, huh? Let's see what else I have in my bag of tricks. Hmm, this is a fun one, but let's save that for a few minutes. So, Gary, is there anything you would like to say right now? Anything you would like to get off your chest before you go on to the great beyond?" Sebastian smiled a devious grin. "Maybe you would like to explain why you thought that a lady's 'no' meant 'keep going, sexy.' Or why someone as amazing as my client would lower herself to be seen with the likes of slime like you. If you promise to behave and answer my questions, I can be convinced to remove the tape from your mouth for a minute. But if you misbehave, I just don't know what might happen. Your choice. Are you going to play nice, Gar-Gar?"

Gary opened his eyes and nodded. Sebastian peeled the tape off. Gary whispered, "I'm sorry. I was wrong. I should have left her alone. I was drunk and horny. I never should have approached her. But please don't kill me. I swear I will never do that again. I will swear off women forever if you let me live. Anything you ask, I'll do it. Just don't kill me. Please." Gary started to cry. "My arm hurts so bad. Please help me. I won't tell anyone anything about you or this or anything. Please just leave me alone. I'll tell the police I was wrong about everything. Please, this never happened."

"Oh, Gary, that's where you are wrong. It did happen, and you are going to pay for it." He pulled out the final syringe from the bag and quickly injected it into Gary's iv. He tucked the bag into his pocket. He then reconnected the morphine and opened the rollerball full tilt. The entire bag quickly emptied into Gary's line. Sebastian reconnected the heart monitor pads to the lifeless body and yelled out for help. "Someone help! My brother stopped breathing! We were just talking and then he stopped and grabbed his chest! OH MY GOD! Is he dead? Someone help me! Gary, Gary, Gary! Wake up! Oh God, no!"

The curtain flew open and several personnel flew in, two of them pushing the crash cart. "Sir, we need you to step out now. We need room to work. Susan, please escort Mr. Johnson to the waiting area."

"Sir, please come with me. The team is going to do their best and someone will keep you updated. Let's go back to the waiting area."

They arrived at a private waiting area. Susan offered Sebastian a cup of coffee, which he refused. "Someone will be in to update you shortly sir. Please remain here. The bathroom is right over there, if you need it."

Sebastian thanked her and sat down. Susan left, and Sebastian waited for 15 minutes until a surgeon entered the room. "Mr. Johnson?" Sebastian nodded. "Mr. Johnson, your brother appears to have suffered a fatal arrhythmia following his surgery. We exhausted all of our options, but I'm afraid we had to pronounce him dead a few moments ago. I am very sorry for your loss." Sebastian forced tears to his eyes. "He's dead? What happened? He looked so good. The nurse said that he was okay. We … we were just talking and now he's dead? I don't understand."

"Well, as you may have known, your brother had coronary artery disease and his morbid obesity did further weaken his heart. We will be doing an autopsy tomorrow to confirm cause of death, but I would say that those two factors are probably what lead to his death. Again, I am so sorry for your loss. Would you like to see his body now?"

"No … no autopsy. Gary had a weird obsession against them. It developed after our parents died. He made me swear that when he died, I wouldn't allow one. Even if they didn't know what killed him. I begged and pleaded with him to change his mind, but you know how obsessions are. They don't make sense. I want to know what happened, but I wouldn't feel right betraying him like that. Is there any way to find out without doing an autopsy?"

"No, sir. Not really."

"Could this have been caused by his attack this evening? Did the man who attacked him maybe cause some sort of internal damage that you guys missed?"

"Actually, sir, from what I understand, your brother was involved in an altercation with a female. The story I was told was that he touched a young lady at a nightclub and she defended herself against his advances." The surgeon didn't add that he knew and highly respected the woman involved. He knew that Dr. Weire was a fine, upstanding person and would never resort to violence unnecessarily. He was eager to talk to his friend and co-worker about the occurrence because it sounded nothing like her.

"A girl did this to him? I find that very hard to believe." Sebastian shook his head. "Okay, I'm ready to see him. Lead the way."

The doctor lead Sebastian to a private viewing room. "Take your time, sir. Let the nurses in the PACU know when you are done. I have to alert the police to this and they will probably have questions for you. I'll hold them off until you are done." Sebastian thanked him. After the doctor left the room, Sebastian verified the man's pulseless, breathless state, took two pictures, and snuck out the door. He left the hospital and drove back to Heather's house.

He walked into the home and immediately went into his bedroom and changed into pajamas. He knocked on Jim's door, but received no answer. He carefully opened the door and peeked in. Jim was not in there. He padded down the hall to Heather's bedroom and cracked the door open. Jim was laying wrapped around Heather. Sebastian started to close the door when he saw Jim's hand wave him in. Jim carefully disengaged from Heather's sleeping form and climbed out of bed. "Is it done?"

Sebastian waved him out the door and they entered his bedroom. He pulled up the two pictures on his phone and showed them to Jim. "It's handled. I poisoned him with potassium chloride, stopping his heart. Had to pose as his brother. They wanted to do an autopsy tomorrow, but I refused, stating it was a huge phobia of his. You said that he has no family, right? So right now, they are probably looking for his poor brother, Mike, who was just heartbroken at the news of his death. He'll be buried in potter's field when they can't find him in a few days. How's Heather? It looks like she's sleeping well."

"Excellent job as always, tiger. We talked for a bit after Kate left. She thought I was upset with her. That she had embarrassed me somehow. I assured her that I was proud of her for standing up for herself. I apologized that she had to defend herself. Promised her that I would never put her in that kind of situation again. You were right. She did want to 'make everything up to me' by getting intimate, but I told her that as much as I wanted that and her, I knew that she would only be doing it to try to apologize and she had nothing to apologize for. I told her that tonight I just wanted to hold and protect her. I talked her into taking both a valium and an Ambien along with her normal night meds to ensure she slept well. You were here the entire night. Heather went to bed because she was upset, and you and I stayed up and watched the Star Wars Episodes 4 and 5, then I joined Heather in bed and you went to bed. Any questions?"

"Nope. I'll let you get back to Heather and I'm going to bed for real. See ya in the morning."

The two men climbed back upstairs and went into their respective rooms. Both men quickly fell asleep, content in the knowledge that their angel was finally safe again.


	22. Chapter 22

**Author's note: No reviews lately. Hopefully you guys still like this. Good news is the cold I have been fighting is about 75% gone, so I'm not quite so foggy in the brain and I can breathe. Yay! Now if I can just get rid of the random runny nose, I will be set. Usual thanks to Mofitiss (Happy Birthday, Mofitt), ACD, BBC, etc. Special thank you to my husband for pointing out a possible plot flaw in Chapter 20. His opinion is that Heather wouldn't be as upset as I made her about being attacked. He may have a good point. He may not. Your thoughts are always welcome. I made her that upset because the one time I was in a similar experience (without breaking a guy's arm/wrist), the powerlessness I felt stuck with me for a long time, but then I'm not my character, so it's up for debate. She's 38 and has military type experience and I was a shy 13-year-old girl and it was a friend (or so I thought). Anyway, onto the next morning …**

Chapter 22

Heather woke up and stretched her arms. She rolled over and looked at the clock. "Ugh, 6 am. Too early." She heard a toilet flush, followed by the sink running, and Jim walked out of the bathroom. "Morning, sunshine," she said sleepily. "Come join me back in bed, but lose the clothes. I haven't been to the gym in a few days and need a good workout. Feel like helping me out, coach?" She winked at him and pulled the covers back.

"As you wish," cooed Jim.

"Keep wooing me with Princess Bride quotes and I won't let you leave ever," warned Heather, smiling.

Jim stripped off his shirt and pants and crawled into bed. He began caressing the soft skin of his lover's face before broadening his stroke down to her neck and shoulders. "Oh, Jim, that feels so good," Heather sighed.

"Roll over. I want to try something."

"Um, ok, I'm open to that, but can we at least play around a little first before we go there. I mean, I think I have some Vaseline in the hall closet, but you know … a girl likes to be wooed a little before we just go straight 'there.' Maybe some kissing, at least."

Jim looked at Heather a little oddly. "What do you mean? I was going to give you a back rub. Sebastian said that you get massages every 2 weeks for stress relief. I thought I would be nice and give you a quick back rub to start the morning."

"Oh, okay. No, that sounds great. I thought you wanted to do an- …. You know what, never mind what I thought. Yeah, a backrub would be fantastic. Thank you honey. I have some body lotion over here if you want to use it. You don't have to. It's just a thought."

"Ok. Yeah, hand me the bottle." Jim was still a little confused about what had just happened, but decided to keep rolling on. Heather handed him a bottle of vanilla scented lotion and he squeezed a small amount onto his hand. After rubbing his hands together, he began rubbing the cream into her back and shoulders. Heather sighed and moaned with his motions. He felt her relax under his hands and he smiled to himself. "Are you enjoying yourself? Is this good for you," he whispered into her ear.

"This is wonderful, Jim. Don't stop. If Consulting Criminal doesn't work out, you should become a massage therapist. You have magic hands." Heather smiled lazily. She felt herself just starting to drift off to sleep. She tried to stay awake, but it was becoming more and more difficult the long Jim worked. Before she knew it, she had fallen back into a deep slumber.

Jim felt Heather's body go completely limp and saw her breath slow and deepen. "Kitten, are you still awake? Did you fall back to sleep on me," whispered Jim. When Heather didn't respond, Jim closed the lotion bottle and grinned. He carefully climbed off the bed and washed his hands in the bathroom. He had to admit that the lotion smelled delicious, but rather decidedly unmanly. He got re-dressed and crept out of the room. He walked downstairs, following the smell of coffee. He found Sebastian in the living room, reading and drinking out of a mug.

"Smells good. Is there any left," Jim asked.

"No, it's single serve from the Keurig, but there are a few pods left if you want to brew one up for yourself," answered Sebastian. The front gate bell rang. Jim looked up at the security monitor and saw a police car waiting at the end of the driveway. "Uh, oh, cops are here. Go upstairs and hide. I've got this. Don't bother Heather. She's sleeping." Sebastian nodded and hustled up the stairs.

Jim buzzed the gates open and waited by the door for the officers. When they knocked, he opened the door. "Good morning, sir. My name is Officer Phillip Jackson. I'm with the Baltimore Police Department. Is this the home of Heather Weire?"

"Yes, it is. What may I help you with?" Jim kept the door close to him.

"May I come in, sir? I need to speak with Miss Weire regarding an assault last night. Is she home?"

"Yes, but she is sleeping. If you would like to leave your card, I can have her call you back when she gets up." Jim was business-like.

"Sir, that's not really an option. It would be best if I spoke with her now, sir. By the way, sir, what is your name and your relationship to Miss Weire?"

"Very well, please come in. I will go get Dr. Weire. Please wait here." Jim walked upstairs and into Heather's bedroom. "Heather, love, you need to get up. There is an officer here who needs to speak to you. I will be with you the whole time. What is your lawyer's name and number? I'll give him a call while you get dressed."

"What? There's a cop downstairs? For me? What does he want? Wait, weren't we just about to have sex? Why are you dressed? What the hell is going on?"

Jim closed his eyes for a moment and sighed, "Yes, there is a police officer downstairs who wants to talk to you about last night. At the club. I'll explain the other stuff after he leaves. You need to get up and get dressed. Brush your teeth. Pull your thoughts together a bit. Do you have an attorney? I will call him while you get ready. Okay? Let's get up now." Jim reached his hand out to her. "By the way, don't mention that Sebastian is here. I'll explain why later. Just trust me for right now, okay?"

"James Anthony is my lawyer. His number is in my phone under his last name. Glancing at the clock, "At this time of day, call his cell number. I have to pee," grumbled Heather.

Heather stumbled into the bathroom and got ready while Jim called the lawyer and briefly explained the situation, leaving out the murder part. The attorney agreed to stay on speakerphone for the officer's visit. He spoke briefly with Heather before they went downstairs, reminding her to be brief and honest. He said that he would object if the officer asked a question that he felt would not benefit Heather to answer at that time. He told her to come into the office at 10 that morning to discuss the case. He would call the detective she spoke to the night before and see what was going on.

Heather and Jim walked downstairs, and Heather greeted the officer. "Good morning, Officer. My name is Dr. Heather Weire. I believe that you are here to discuss my assault last night. Where is Detective Mathers? I thought he was in charge of this case. Just to let you know, I have my attorney on speakerphone and he insists on listening to our conversation."

"That's fine, ma'am. Detective Mathers asked me to come see you this morning, ma'am. He is busy on another case right now. May we sit down? Also, sir, you never did tell me your name or relationship with Miss, sorry, Dr. Weire." Heather lead them into the living room and gestured for the cop to take a seat in the wingback. She and Jim sat on the couch. "Officer, this is my boyfriend, Tim. He is visiting me from out of town for a few days. He was with me last night. That should be in the report."

"Thank you, ma'am. Ma'am, I regret to inform you that your assailant, Mr. Johnson has died. He passed away following surgery late last night. His family has been notified. Detective Mathers has decided that no charges should be filed in this case. We are closing it at this time."

"Oh my! He died? What happened? It wasn't because of his injury, was it?" Heather thought to herself, "I couldn't have hurt him that badly. There was some bleeding, but nothing life-threatening."

"It appears that he had a heart problem that resulted in a post anesthesia issue. The doctors said that it was just one of those unfortunate things that happen. His brother was with him when he passed. Although, he has not been seen since. We are investigating that. They were alone when the decedent suffered the complication and it seems somewhat suspicious that he disappeared so quickly."

Jim saw his opening. "Hmm, do you think that this brother might pose a security risk to Heather? Maybe he feels like she caused his death. Should she get some security for the time being? Unfortunately, I am returning home this evening, so I won't be around to protect her. She lives here alone and as a surgeon, has odd hours."

"That is a decision that only she can make, sir. It is unlikely that he would come after her and I do notice that she does have some security features up already, but truthfully, the world can be a dangerous place. Dr. Weire, do you have any questions?"

Heather was stunned by this turn of events. "No … no. I'm okay. I'm sorry that he died, obviously, but I am glad that this case is over now. Is there anything else you all will need from me? Any papers to sign or anything?"

Heather's attorney piped up, "Heather, they can send all of that to my office and you and I can review them and take care of them later. Don't worry about that right now. Officer, please tell Detective Mathers I will be calling him later this morning to discuss this case. Heather, unless you need to see me, you don't have to come into the office today at 10. I'll give you a call once everything gets settled and we can set up a time for everything, okay?"

"Yeah, thanks, James. I appreciate everything."

Officer Jackson stood up and Jim and Heather followed his example. They shook hands and Jim walked him to the door. "I'll open the gates while you pull out."

Heather sat back down on the couch. She was wide awake now. Jim let the officer out and closed the gates behind him. Heather sighed a heavy breath. "Jim, what is going on? That was not a fatal injury. This brother can't be found? And I can't talk about Bash? What do you know about this? Remember, honesty no matter what. Did you have something to do with this?"

Jim stared at her for a moment, weighing his options. "Yes, I ordered Sebastian to handle this. For you. For us. That man had no right to even speak to you, much less touch you, and he needed to know that."

Heather thought for a moment. "Jim, I agree with you that he shouldn't have touched me, but you can't go around killing everyone who upsets me. The world population would drop to like 4 people if you did. So, can we agree on no more killing unless I ask for it. Do you think that that would be reasonable? Thank you for defending my honor, really, but murder is a bit much. I appreciate the sentiment, I do, but it's a bit not so great long term. Second, I need you to give Bash permission to talk to me about it. I don't think he will unless you give the go ahead and he also must be able to tell me the whole truth. No secrets. Finally, is this going to cause a problem for you two leaving tonight? The hospital has security cameras everywhere, so I'm quite sure that there are tons of pictures and videos of him. Do you need to change your travel arrangements?"

"No, this won't affect our travel at all. We're fine there. Second, yes, I suppose Sebastian can answer your questions if you need him to. Third, I will try not to kill or harm everyone who displeases you. Accidents might happen, but I will do my best. I just hate seeing you upset. Finally, I wasn't going to discuss this with you now, but it's as good a time as any. I want you to hire some personal security and get a dog or two. I will of course pay for it all, but I want it done immediately. Sebastian can set up the personal security if you like and I will take you to look at dogs today. I would like for you to get at least two. Big dogs. Big, ferocious, man-eating dogs. No little lap dogs. Your parents have pit bulls, right? Two of those would be fine. Or Rottweilers, German Sheppard's, Dobermans, etc. Sebastian said that you prefer shelter dogs. That's very sweet, but not this time. I want trained guard dogs. I have a few feelers out for local breeders with trained dogs. We can go see them after breakfast. I can't be here, so I would feel a lot better if I knew you had more security around you."

"Jim, I don't want personal security. I am fine on my own. I don't need babysitters. And, I'm not opposed to a dog, but it would have to be okay with the cats and I really hate breeders. Most of them don't treat their animals right and there are tons of wonderful animals in shelters that need good, loving homes. What if I got one shelter dog, a big one, and hired a trainer? He or she could train the dog to defend the house and me. It would take a little time, but at least I would be giving a great dog a good home. I'm willing to meet you halfway with the dog issue. But it is an absolute hard no on the bodyguard thing."

"Nope, not going to work. Either get personal security or two trained dogs. I will give up one, but not both. You pick."

Heather pouted and thought for a few minutes. "Okay, I will get the dogs from one of your breeders. BUT, I get to pick the dogs and only two. No more and it's 100% my choice which two I get. And they go back if they can't get along with the cats. Can I please go talk to Bash now? Tell him of this Faustian deal I had to make with you."

Jim smiled and kissed the top of Heather's head. "Go ahead, kitten. I'll make breakfast and bring it up to you."

"Make pancakes. They better be fucking amazing pancakes, too. Like I better have multiple orgasms from these things. You owe me for this dog thing," grumbled Heather. She stood up and made her way to Sebastian's bedroom. She knocked on the door and opened it. Sebastian was sitting on the bed, reading. Heather flopped down across the mattress. "Bashie, you won't believe what Jim is making me do. I have to get two dogs from a breeder. It was that or get bodyguards. By the way, thanks for killing that guy for me. I mean, yeah, a bit extreme, but kind of sweet too, in a weird, twisted way. I know Jim told you to, so you kind of had to, but thanks the same. It's not every day someone literally kills for you, so yeah. Just out of curiosity, how did you do it? Jim said you could talk to me about it, so it's cool. The cop is gone, by the way."

"Seriously, Jim said we could talk about it? You're not just saying that?"

"Yeah, I asked him. He wasn't totally thrilled with the idea, but I kind of talked him into it a bit. I still can't believe you killed for me. You haven't done that since Afghanistan, but that was totally different. It was your job to kill there."

Sebastian thought to himself, "Um, it still is my job to kill, sweetie. And obviously, you don't know about the couple of other times I handled situations for you since then. And you never will know." Sebastian cleared his throat. "Short version of the story, I poisoned him."

"Ok, long version of the story …" prompted Heather.

"I gave him a massive dose of epi, followed by a massive dose of adenosine, then a massive dose of potassium."

"Damn! That would simulate a major cardiac event. Nice work! I'm impressed. I didn't think you were paying attention all those times I talked about different kinds of medications, but I was wrong. Where did you get the meds?"

"I have resources. Jim can get his hands on almost anything for the right price. I'm handy with more than just guns and knives." Sebastian looked down right proud.

"Can't say I approve of the whole murder thing, but hey, when you have a talent, you shouldn't waste it. I'm guessing you had a good time? You look a bit like the cat that ate the canary."

"Yeah, I do enjoy my work. Especially when it's personal like last night was. Even if Jim hadn't ordered it, I still would have hurt that guy. He had no right to touch you. You defended yourself beautifully, like I know you can, but I wanted a piece of him too. You gave him a compound fracture of both lower arm bones. You did good, kid. I'm proud of you." Sebastian hugged her.

"Thanks, dad." Heather rolled her eyes. "Jim's making breakfast, so I gotta ask. Is my kitchen safe or should I go ahead and put the fire department on standby? I asked for pancakes."

Sebastian snorted. "Yeah, you probably just get cereal. He's not really a cook. He knows it, so he doesn't really try. Do you want me to go check on him?"

"Let's go down together. If I'm getting cereal, then he's been in there for too long. Now I'm getting worried." They walked downstairs and into the kitchen. Jim had a carton of eggs open on the counter and was threatening Downey with a chef knife. There was a thin layer of smoke in the kitchen air.

"Jim, what are you doing," Heather asked as she turned the burner off and picked up the cat. "What's going on in here? Was Downey misbehaving again?" She stroked the cat's fur. "Mr. Downey, were you helping Mr. Jim with breakfast, baby? What were you guys making, pumpkin butt? Are you my silly little pumpkin boy? I love you so much, my furry prince. Where's your sister? Have you two eaten breakfast yet? Are you hungry little babies," she cooed to the feline.

Jim rolled his eyes. "That orange ball of fury tried to bite me. It kept jumping up and trying to get to the eggs and I kept putting it on the floor. The third time, I reached for him and he tried to bite me."

"Well, you shouldn't make him mad. Did you let him sniff you first? Did you ask him to get down nicely? Oh, wait. Did you touch his belly? Yeah, you can't touch his belly. He thinks you're attacking him if you touch his belly. He's a little weird that way. He's probably just hungry. Did you feed him?"

"No, I didn't feed him. He's a cat. He can wait."

"No, he's used to getting fed before I eat. Let me feed him quick. That's probably why he tried to give you a love nip." Heather mixed up the cats' food and poured it into their respective bowls. "Babies, breakfast is ready. There ya go. Eat up my angels. We don't eat the houseguests, guys. You know that." Heather washed her hands. "Jim scoot over. I'll make breakfast. Bacon and eggs good for everyone?" Heather scrambled together some eggs and threw some bacon in the microwave. "Serve yourself. After breakfast, I'm going to get a shower and then we can go out to look at the prisoner dogs, Jim. Do you know where these puppy gulags are? I have a map if we need it."

"They are high class breeders, Heather, not some backwater inbred hillbillies. These dogs come with papers, I'll have you know."

"Yeah papers and generations of inbreeding. Goodie, I get dogs from a family tree that just don't fork. Gosh, I hope they all have one eye and hip dysplasia. Those are the best kind of dogs," remarked Heather sarcastically. "Nothing wrong with shelter animals. Both cats are from shelters and look how great they are. All my cats and dogs growing up were foundlings or shelter animals and they were the best. But no, only fancy pants dogs are good enough for the great Jim Moriarty." she mumbled. "I hope I'm good enough. I can't trace my family line all the way back to the Mayflower."

"Heather, you are not a dog. I don't care about your family. I just want the best for you. If you would rather have bodyguards, then fine. If not, then it's the dogs. Final word!"

"Fine, dogs!" Heather pouted. Sebastian just leaned back in his chair. "I should diffuse this," he thought to himself. "Heather, do you want me to go with you and Jim when you go look at the dogs. These breeders are good people. They come highly recommended. They treat their dogs very well and train them themselves. I think you will like these people. Just don't judge before you see it for yourself."

"Fine, you can drive." Heather continued to pout.

After breakfast, Jim and Sebastian cleaned up and Heather went upstairs to get ready. She checked the weather and decided to wear jeans and her t-shirt from the most recent Polar Bear Plunge that benefitted the local Humane Society. "Silent protest," thought Heather. She pulled her hair up into a ponytail and put on the baseball cap from the local SPCA. She looked in the mirror and smiled a satisfied grin. She walked downstairs. "Ready, guys."


	23. Chapter 23

**Author's note: Thanks as always to usuals. I like my fictional playmates. They're fun.**

Chapter 23

Heather grabbed her purse and double checked the contents. She grabbed her purse from last night and transferred some items between the two bags. "Are you guys ready to go?"

"Heather, are you kidding me? What's with that shirt and hat? Real subtle. Go change before Jim sees you. We get the point. Shelters good, breeders bad," groaned Sebastian. "Jim is right. You need more protection if you guys are going to be together. If it were up to me, you would be getting both dogs and bodyguards. So, don't push it! Jim has made a lot of enemies, any of whom would love to harm you if they thought there was the smallest chance that it would hurt Jim. You are being reckless! You know better! So, stop being so damn bull-headed and give in this once. For God's sake Kitten, just let Jim and I do this for you. You have to stop being so fucking independent and accept help when you need it! And you need it now! So, go back upstairs and change into something less inflammatory." Sebastian hadn't meant to yell at his friend, but maybe she deserved it if she just refused to accept that her romance with Jim now placed her in a significantly increased level of danger. He loved her, but she was by far the most stubbornly frustrating person he had ever met.

Heather studied Sebastian for a moment. He never yelled at her unless it was really important. "Do you seriously think I need personal security? You know how I feel about that? Is dating Jim really that dangerous? I mean, yeah, I know some of what he does, but seriously? Bodyguards? Guard dogs? Really? This is some serious next level shit here. I love Jim, but I don't know if I can do this. Bash, why do I fall in love with complicated guys? Brian, you, Jim. What is wrong with me?" Heather looked like she was about to cry. Sebastian hugged her tight and kissed the top of her head.

"Heather, there is nothing wrong with you. You are wonderful. You just have awful taste in men," he joked. "And, honey, you CAN do this. You and Jim love each other. Jim doesn't love anyone, but somehow you have managed to make him love you. For real. But to do this, you have to understand that some things are going to have to change. You must get more security. You have to take steps to be safer. Neither Jim or I are going to be able to do our jobs if we doubt your safety. I know you don't want bodyguards, but I think you need them. Is there anything Jim or I can do to change your mind?"

"What did you have in mind?"

"Well, I would need to talk to Jim, but what if I was able to send a few of my top guys from home here to cover you? I can't promise anything. I would absolutely have to talk to Jim, but let me see what I can do. But for today, let's go and look at some dogs. Just please go change first, okay?"

"Alright, give me a couple minutes and I'll go change." Heather started to walk up the stairs. She looked at the top of the stairs and saw Jim standing there.

"Come here, baby." Jim put his arms out to her. "I know this seems overwhelming, but I promise this is necessary. You trust Sebastian, right? I do too. That's why he is the head of my security. If he thinks you need bodyguards, then you need them. We'll figure something out that works for everyone, I promise. And if you want to wear that, fine, go ahead. If someone doesn't want to sell us a dog because of a stupid t-shirt and hat, then fuck them. Let's go."

They walked downstairs, and Heather picked her purse back up. "C'mon Bash, let's go. Jim said I could wear this, so I'm going to. Let's go look at some puppies." Heather tossed him the car keys and walked out the front door and out to the car.

Jim pulled Sebastian aside. "I heard what you said to her. Thanks, Moran. I was trying to think of a nice way of saying all that, but you pretty much covered it all. We'll talk about bodyguards later. Let's get back and deal with Patterson, then we'll meet about who to send over here to cover her. We'll have to arrange housing and relocation asap."

"Sounds good. I plotted a route based on the location of the breeders. The first one is about 10 minutes from here. He has year old German Sheppards that he trains himself. He's ex-Marine. Name is Sigfoose."

Jim and Sebastian got in the car and Sebastian backed the car down the driveway and out onto the road. They pulled into the Sigfoose property and followed the signs for the "Semper Fi Canine Training Academy." They parked and exited the vehicle. A tall, fit man in his 40's met them halfway to the door of the building. "Good morning, folks. I'm Steve Sigfoose. How can I help you?"

Sebastian stuck his hand out and introduced himself. Jim and Heather followed suit. "I understand you have some trained German Sheppard guard dogs available for purchase. We would be interested in seeing them," stated Jim.

"Yes, sir. That's correct. I have two left. There are $1000 each. Purebred. Neutered, as are all my guard dogs. Trained them myself. I have over 25 years' experience training dogs, including time in the military. They are in the kennels right now. If you would like to follow me, I can show them to you all now." Jim, Sebastian, and Heather followed Steve to the right side of the building. "Can you tell me more about what you would be using my dogs for? Who would be their primary caretaker? I do require vet and personal references. I reserve the right to scheduled home visits for the first 6 months as often as I feel appropriate. I find that this reduces the chances of my dogs being used for illicit purposes, such as dog fighting, drug dens, abuse, etc. I'm sure you understand."

Jim nudged Heather lightly. "Well, Mr. Sigfoose, the dogs would be for me. My boyfriend Jim and my best friend Sebastian here both think that I need more protection at home since I live alone. I already have two cats, but truthfully, they're more likely to beg a burglar for food than defend the house. The dogs I get would have to get along with the cats. If I'm interested in the dogs, I can give you my vet's information. I'm sure she would give you a glowing recommendation. I take very good care of my cats. I grew up with cats and dogs, so I'm very used to caring for them. For personal references, let me know who you would like to speak to and I can give that to you as well. My boss, my neighbors, my minister, whoever. Everyone will tell you I'm a pretty good person. No drug dens or dog fighting at my house. I'm a trauma surgeon, so my schedule can be a little nutty, but I do have a few neighbors who I can count on to come over and take care of the animals if my schedule gets too busy to get home in a decent amount of time. That doesn't happen very often, but I like to have a back-up plan just in case. For the home visits, all I ask is that you give me a call a day or two ahead of time to set something up, just to make sure I'm going to be home when you want to come over. I don't live far away, but I still don't want you to have to drive over and waste your time if I'm not home."

"Sounds good. Please call me Steve. So here are the kennels. The two I have left are year old males. Atticus is on the left and Finch is on the right." Steve opened the gate and signaled for the dogs to come over.

"I see you're a Harper Lee fan. So am I," smiled Heather. "May I pet them?"

"Yes, but hold on for a minute." He turned to towards the dogs. "Hier. Stehan. Gute Hund." Turning back to Heather, "Okay, go ahead."

Heather reached down and pet both dogs on their heads and underneath their chins. The dogs sat perfectly still and accepted the attention willingly. "I see that they accept commands in German. Do they also take them in English? If not, would you please give me a copy of the command words? I speak German fluently, but I want to make sure that I'm giving the exact commands they were trained with. Anyone else taking care of them would also need that information, particularly if they did not speak German."

"Oh, yes of course. That would be standard."

"Excellent. If I were interested in them, when would they be available for me to take home? Also, I would like to see full vet records on both, including immunizations, any blood test results, health issues, etc. Also, if possible, the vet records of both parents. In fact, if possible, I would like to see the parents if they are available. How are these two's siblings? Any physical or behavioral issues with any of them? Why are these two available? Are they housebroken? General temperament, particularly around other animals and children. Jim, Sebastian, can either of you think of questions or issues I haven't raised?" Jim was trying to hide a proud smile at the business acumen of his girlfriend on his face, but shook his head. Sebastian shook his head as well.

"They would be available as soon as I completed the reference checks. I have the vet records for both of them and the mother here. The mother is here, but the father is in California. I have his vet records up to the point of breeding. These two were a part of a 6-dog litter. The other four are doing well. Two of them work as police dogs, one for Baltimore City, the other for Harford County. The other two are privately owned by a family. Nobody has reported any issues and I have checked in multiple times with all four. These two are available simply because no one has claimed them. They're great dogs, just haven't found the right homes for them yet. They are housebroken. I do that as part of their training, as is temperament training with other animals, children, the disabled, the elderly, and a wide variety of the general population. Anything else?"

"Ok. This is a major purchase, not just financially, but also emotionally and from a security standpoint. I just want to make sure I'm covering all of my bases here. Can you excuse us for a few minutes? I like to discuss this with Jim and Sebastian. Thank you." Heather nodded for the other two to walk with her. They stopped about 20 feet away from the dog kennel. "I like both of these dogs. They seem well trained and obedient. Steve seems like a decent guy and his terms sound fair. I know a few guys from the BCPD K9 Unit and their standards are very high. I'd like to go ahead and get these dogs. Today if possible. What do you think?"

"Did you want to look at any of the other breeders? We have one with pit bulls, another one with German Sheppards, a Rottweiler breeder, and a place with Dobermans. I know you like pit bulls. Are you sure you don't want to look around a bit more? We have time," said Sebastian. He exchanged a look with Jim. "We don't have to rush."

"Kitten, Sebby is right. You don't have to settle for the first thing you see. You have options." Jim worried that he and Sebastian had pushed a little too hard this morning.

"No, I'm happy with these two. I like this guy. These dogs seem great. I like that he's so close, so if I have any trouble, he's right down the road to help out with any training refinements. This feels solid. Both of the dogs are beautiful as well. $2000 seems very reasonable for two purebred, housebroken, well-trained dogs. I say we go for it."

"Ok, if you're sure, then let's go discuss the terms with him," remarked Jim. The trio walked back to the kennels. "Steve, Heather has decided to buy these dogs from you. Shall we go inside and take care of the paperwork," said Jim.

"Certainly. Please follow me inside to the office." Steve led them back around the building and into the small, simple office. "Please have a seat. I have some paperwork for you to fill out." He handed Heather a stack of paperwork and a pen. "May I get you something to drink? Coffee, tea, water?"

"Yes, please. A bottle of water would be wonderful, thank you," stated Heather. Jim and Sebastian requested tea.

Steve handed Heather a bottle of cold water from the small refrigerator and turned the electric kettle on for the tea. "What time does your vet's office open? If they are open now, I can call them and get the vet reference out of the way now. I would also need two personal references."

Heather looked at her watch. "The office opened about 10 minutes ago. Here is the number. They are open, but not seeing patents for the first 30 minutes of the day for administrative duties, so you should be able to speak to someone now if you hurry." She pulled the vet's business card out of her wallet and handed it to the trainer. She wrote down Kate and her boss's names and numbers down on another piece of paper and gave it to him as well. "Kate is a friend and Marc is my boss. You should be able to reach both now for my personal references."

"Okay, thank you. I'll call your vet first, then the other two. Go ahead and continue working on the paperwork while I do that."

Steve sat down at his desk and dialed the first number. He spoke to the vet and asked a through series of questions regarding the Heather's history of pet ownership and related topics. He appeared happy with the answers he received. He called her two personal references and spent quite some time grilling each reference carefully. Heather, meanwhile, had finished the paperwork and set it aside. She tried not to eavesdrop, but the office was cramped. About halfway through the second phone call, she noticed an elderly black poodle curled up under a side table. She approached the dog and held her hand out for the dog to sniff it. The dog cautiously sniffed and licked her hand. Heather began softly petting the dog and quietly talking to it. The dog rolled over and showed her belly. Heather gave her gentle belly rubs and the dog closed her eyes, contented. Heather stopped for a moment to scratch her own nose and the dog opened her eyes and gave a small whine at the lack of attention. "Oh, I'm sorry, little girl. I had an itchy I had to take care of. How rude of me to take attention away from you to handle my needs. C'mere. I've got more belly rubs for you." Heather laughed and gently stroked the dog's flank and returned to rubbing the belly. "Is this better?" The dog placed one of her paws on Heather's knee and closed her eyes again.

Steve hung up the phone and said, "Well your references all check out. Your vet really likes you a lot. Said you were one of the most responsible pet parents he had ever seen. I like that. Your boss speaks very highly of you, as well. Let me look through your application here." Steve was quiet for a few minutes as he reviewed the paperwork. "I see you own your own home. How much land do you own? These dogs are used to having plenty of space to run around in when they are outside. They are meant to be inside dogs, but they do need plenty of outside time to play."

"I own just under 3 acres. It is all fenced in. And monitored by video feed by a security firm. I also have access to the video feed from my phone, computer, and several monitors in my home. But when the dogs are outside, I will be outside with them. I've never been comfortable leaving my pets outside alone, just to be safe. Periodically, we do get some wild animals in the yard, mostly deer and skunks. Maybe I'm just being overcautious, but I prefer to err on the side of safety. Particularly because my pets are more than just animals. They are family members and I like to keep my family as safe as possible."

"I'm glad that you see your pets as family. These dogs are trained to keep people safe, but they are also great companions. Three acres is more than enough room. I don't like to sell my dogs to people who live in apartments or don't have adequate space for them. German shepherds are very intelligent dogs and get bored easily if they don't get a chance to exercise. Boredom tends to lead to destruction." Steve continued to review the paperwork. Finally, he looked up and said, "Well, Heather, everything looks good here. I feel pretty confident that you and these dogs are going to be a good match. When did you want to take them home?"

Heather's eyebrows shot up. "Really? Just like that? Wow, thank you!" She looked over at Jim. "What do you think, honey?"

Jim smiled and said, "I think I owe this man $2000." Turning towards Steve, "Cash okay?"

Heather beamed. "We need to stop by the pet store and pick up a few things before we can take them home. We'll need food, beds, bowls, some toys, collars, and leashes. What am I forgetting?" Heather felt like there was something she wasn't accounting for, but it just wasn't coming to her. She tried to review a day in the life of a dog in her mind. She had food and bowls for meals, beds for sleeping, toys for playing, and collars and leashes for walks. Everything sounded like it was covered, but it still felt like she was forgetting something. "It'll come to me later I'm sure," she thought to herself. "The pet store will be open at 9 am, so let's plan to head there next to do some shopping. After we get everything, we can come back to pick them up. So, maybe 11 am? Does that sound okay?"

"Can you make it 11:30? I have a training client at 10 and I want to make sure that I'm totally done before you guys get here. That's another thing. I offer free training for the six months and then after that it's 50% off. In case you and/or the dogs need a little help getting used to each other. Here's my card. If you get on the website, you can schedule any training you might need there. Or you can always just call me and schedule over the phone. Also, since these are the last two, I can send their food, collars, and toys with them since I won't need them. I have about a week's worth of food left, so you should pick more up, but that will at least get you started."

"Great! Thank you so much. That will be a huge help. Yeah, 11:30 is fine. That will perfect, just in case we need a little extra time to get everything home and ready."

Jim handed Steve the money and Steve wrote him a receipt. "I'll go ahead and give them both bathes after you guys leave so they'll be fresh and clean for their new home. Thank you so much. I really think you are going to be very happy with these two guys. I'll miss them, but at least I know they're going to a good home."

"No, thank you so much, Steve. Atticus and Finch are going to be great additions to my family. I just have to convince the cats that now. It might be a little rocky for a week or two, but soon everyone will good friends, I'm sure. Oh, I did forget to mention one thing. I'm taking a short trip to London in two weeks for a job interview. I'll be gone about four days total. I'm going to stop by the vet's office and see if I can add Atticus and Finch to the cats' boarding reservation. I doubt it will be a problem, but just in case they don't have room, do you have any recommendations for boarding places that take big dogs?"

"Actually, if your vet can't take them, call me and I'll watch them while you're gone. I won't even charge you. It'll be like a mini reunion for us. Just bring all of their stuff and leave me your contact info."

"Seriously? Steve, you are the BEST! That would fantastic, but if I bring them back here, I would insist on paying you something for the time and trouble. I will let you know either way when I come pick them up later. Again, thank you so much!"

Jim, Sebastian, Heather, and Steve left the small office and walked out to the car. Steve waved them goodbye as they pulled out down the driveway. "Yay! I got doggies now," exclaimed Heather. "Bash, pull up the address for the PetSmart in Hampden Square. We'll probably get there a few minutes before they open, but we can wait in the car until it opens." Heather was quiet for a moment. "On a more somber note, I guess we have to discuss bodyguards now, don't we," she asked the car in general. "Do you two still think it's truly necessary?"

Sebastian exchanged a look in the rearview mirror with Jim. Jim spoke up first. "I know you really don't want to have them, but … since Sebastian and I are going to be so far away from you, I think you should have them. I would feel a lot better knowing that you were protected by trained people and the dogs. I'm willing to discuss negotiations about the matter. What are you thinking?"

"Well … I'm pretty strongly against having them but, Bash made a proposal this morning that I would be willing to consider. He said that he would have to discuss it with you first, but we're all here so let's discuss. He said that there was a _possibility_ that he could perhaps relocate some of your current security team here to America to be my security. He didn't promise anything, other than to discuss it with you. I understand if that is not a viable solution, but it is something I would consider IF I got to hand pick these people and they reported to me. I don't want or need babysitters or yet another set of parents telling me what I can and can not do. Between my parents, step-parents, and my sisters, I have more than enough 'mommies' trying to control my actions, I don't need more, thank you. Obviously, since you would be paying them, they would also report to you, but I need to be able to live as free of a life as possible. I will still continue working at the hospital in my current role. I will still go hang out with my friends and co-workers. I am willing to make some minor changes, but I will not be a prisoner in my own home. If I feel like going grocery shopping at 2 in the morning, I will go grocery shopping at 2 in the morning. I'll just take along a security buddy. What about that?"

Jim thought for a moment. "I think we can make that work. I would prefer that you have security asap, instead of waiting the two weeks until you come to England to meet my men. What if Sebastian and I pick a few people we think you would like and you can try them out until you come over and meet everyone else? Worse case scenario, you have to tolerate someone for 2 weeks and then if you don't like them, we won't relocate them. Would the people who are on duty be able to stay at your place just while they are on duty and you are home? Like at night. We would have them at a nearby hotel or something when they are not on duty. How hard would it be to get them security clearance at the hospital? They would need to be with you at all times?"

"While they are on duty, yes, they could stay at my house in one of the guest rooms if they follow house rules. Like being nice to the cats, keeping the house tidy, respecting kitchen rules, etc. I would need to meet with the Head of Security to get them security clearance for the hospital. They could be most of the places I am. When I'm with patients, I would need them to stand outside of the room for HIPAA purposes. No one is escorting me into the bathroom or the OR changing room. When I'm in the OR, they can stand or sit against a far wall, well out of the way. If you have any with medical training, I may be able to incorporate them a bit more. Perhaps as a personal assistant or scribe." A thought occurred to Heather. She knew the answer, but figured she would ask anyway. "Can I have Bash? Who better to protect your most prized possession then your head of security? I would be so super safe with him around, Jim. And isn't that what this is all about? Keeping me safe and secure?" Heather fluttered her eyelashes.

"While I'm sure Sebastian would do a top notch job keeping you safe and out of trouble, I need him with me back home. To keep me safe and out of trouble. But nice try, love. Really, A for effort." Jim had seen straight through her trickery. Heather pouted for a few seconds. "Sebastian, what do you think? Who would you recommend? I was thinking 3 total. Each does a 16-hour shift, rotating. McDonald, Al-Shaw, and Koslov."

"Ok, I'll call them when we get back from the pet store. Heather, we can FaceTime them, so you know what they look like and can talk to them for a few minutes to see if you like them enough. Sound okay?"

"I guess. Jim, are you sure I can't keep Bashie at least for a few days? Just until the others get settled."

"No, love, no can do. Sebastian has a very important appointment first thing Monday morning that he absolutely can not miss. Don't you, Bashie?"

"Yeah. I guess. Whatever. I'm fine. I don't need to go. It's not time yet. I got three more months before I'm due. Tch, whatever," the blond muttered under his breath.

"Oh, where are you going sweetie? Is everything okay?" Heather instinctively reached out to touch Sebastian's shoulder.

"I'm going to the dentist. Jim wants me to go for a check-up. I don't need one. But Jim insisted," Sebastian grumbled.

"Oh, honey. I'm sure it'll be fine. I know you hate going, but regular check-ups are important. You can't let your teeth go to rot, babe. On the upside, it's only twice a year for what like 45 minutes each time. You'll be in and out in no time. I'll tell ya what. When you get done, make your next appointment and then call me and I'll make a trip over to come with you that time. I'll hold your hand and then after, we'll go shooting or drinking or something fun, okay? Maybe I'll bring Kate and you can show off your clean, pretty mouth to her instead." Heather teased and winked at her friend. "I'm sure Jim and I can find something to do while you entertain Katie. Maybe go visit elderly shut-ins or volunteer at a soup kitchen."

"Yeah, Sebastian, you don't want your teeth to rot or develop bad breath. I would be so displeased if that happened," chimed in Jim.

Sebastian shot a murderous look towards Jim in the rearview mirror. He pulled into the strip mall and parked in front of the pet store. "Looks like we have 10 minutes before they open. Heather, the arts and crafts store looks open. Do you want to go in there for a few minutes until 9?"

"Okay. I can pick up some supplies to make pillows with."

The trio went into the store and Heather bought some pillow fluff and fabric. She decided about halfway through the store to make some pillows for the dogs to sleep on, in addition to buying them each a dog bed at the pet store. After paying for her items, she led the guys over to the pet store and got a shopping cart. They filled the cart with a large bag of the food Steve had the dogs on, two extra large dog beds, leashes, a fancy water filtration system with a bowl, a variety of rugged dog toys, dog shampoo and conditioner, and two dog seat belt set-ups. Heather picked up a bottle of doggie pheromones claiming to "calm the inner puppy in times of turmoil." She read the back of the bottle and seriously considered buying a few bottles to spray around the house. Jim picked up the bottle out of her hand and put it back on the shelf. "Heather, this is b.s. science and you know it. The dogs will be fine. The cats might be a slightly different story, but they will adjust. You are overthinking this. Come on, I think we have everything we need."

"Hang on, I want to pick up a couple things for the cats to reassure them that they are not being replaced." She grabbed some cat nip and a few toys stuffed with cat nip and threw them in the cart.

Jim pushed the cart to the front. He unloaded everything onto the counter and paid for it all. Sebastian and Heather loaded it back into the cart. Heather kissed Jim and thanked him for his generosity. "Anything to make my kitten happy," he smiled.

They loaded the bags into the car and climbed in. Heather got in the back. She was feeling very excited about the morning's events. She told Sebastian to drive over to the vet's office on the way home. She hoped that they would be able to fit the dogs in for boarding. She settled back against the seat and started daydreaming. Jim looked back at her and saw her lost in thought, staring out the window, with a lazy smile on her face. He thought about how much he was going to miss her after they left that evening, but was glad it would only be two weeks until he saw her again. He started to think about what they could do while she was there, outside of the obvious. "Definitely the Ferris wheel. There was a Shakespeare in the Park group usually during the summer. I'll have to see what they're doing. Le Bon Petit's definitely. Introduce her to Beau and Davin. Maybe see if Davin would cook for them, either at home or the restaurant. Clothes shopping, of course." He laughed to himself at the memory of her reaction to his mention of Vivienne. "I'll have to introduce them."

After a few minutes, Sebastian pulled into the vet's parking lot. "Heather, we're here. Did you want to run in by yourself," he called back.

"Yeah, just give me a couple minutes." Heather got out of the car and entered the office. She greeted the receptionist and explained the situation to her. The receptionist checked the boarding records and found that they could take the dogs for that time period. Heather thanked her and exited the building. She got back in the car and announced the good news. "This will make it a bit easier. I'll only have to go to one place for all of the animals instead of two. Though, I have a feeling Steve might be a little disappointed."

They drove home and unloaded the trunk. The cats sniffed the bags and gave Heather the stink eye when she told them the wonderful news about their new brothers. She looked at the clock and saw that it was only 9:45. "Okay, we've got about an hour and a half before we have to leave again. Is there anything you guys want to do with that time? Do you need to pack or anything?" Both men shook their heads. "Did it already."

"Okay, do you want to play a board game? Watch a movie? Make the streets run red with the blood of the innocent? What sounds good?"

Jim perked up. "The bloody street thing sounds fun. What do you think, Sebastian? Up for some random murder?"

"Um, yeah … murder is fun, but I think we should work on the security thing first. Let me call the guys up so Heather can talk to them and see if she likes them enough. Let's try Al-Shaw first. Sebastian pulled out his phone, dialed a number, and listened to it ring twice. "Yes, sir," answered the lightly accented man on the other end. Sebastian told him the details of the plans and handed the phone over to Heather.

"Hello, sir. How are you?"

"I am well, ma'am. Thank you for asking. How are you?"

"I'm doing okay. So, Sebastian has explained the situation to you, does this sound like something you would be interested in doing? The trial period would be for two weeks and I must warn you, I am very picky and frankly, I'm kind of a bitch to deal with at times. Your job would be to keep me safe without getting in the way. Are you capable of doing this?"

"Yes, ma'am. I can be quite inconspicuous when I need to be. I would need you to listen to me and follow my directions if a situation arose. Would this be a problem for you, ma'am?"

"That will remain to be seen. I am very independent and rather set in my ways. I am used to taking calculated risks in life. I also have military experience and have extensive experience with handguns. I have won quite a few marksmanship awards at the expert level, so I feel more confident than your average civilian. As I have told Sebastian and Mr. Moriarty, I will not be held prisoner in my own home or workplace. Any security I have will need to adapt to my lifestyle, not vice versa. So, I will ask again, do you feel capable of carrying out this mission?"

"I think we can work together, ma'am. Do you have any other questions for me?"

"No, that should do it. Sebastian assures me that you will be a suitable fit and I trust his judgement. I will hand you back to him now." She handed the phone back to Sebastian and gave a thumbs up. Sebastian informed the man that he would meet with him the next morning to discuss details, then hung up the phone. Sebastian called the other two men and they had similar conversations. Heather approved them both. By the time the phone interviews were over, it was 11:10. Heather suggested that they leave now. They would be slightly early, but she doubted that it would be a true problem.

Heather quickly installed the two dog seatbelts in the back seat and grabbed the leashes. They left the house and arrived at Sigsfoose's at 11:25. They entered the office and greeted Steve. "Are my boys ready," asked Heather. "Yup, here they are," said Steve, standing up. He called the two dogs out from behind his desk. Heather leaned down and pet both of them. She hooked their leashes on their collars. "I spoke to my vet and they can watch these guys while I'm gone, but thank you again for the offer." Steve handed Jim 2 thick manila envelopes. "Here are their vet records, copies of their parents' records, their papers, all of the transfer paperwork, and everything else you will need for their records. I faxed copies of their records to your vet a little while ago. I included a couple copies of their commands in German and the English translation. I gathered their food and stuff over here. I can carry that out to your car if you would like. Is there anything else you can think of that you need from me?"

"Um, I think that's everything I can think of. Come on boys. Let's get ready to go to your new home. You can meet your new brother and sister. They're kitties, so they might not act very happy to meet you, but they are so excited. Kitties just show their happiness in a different way that doggies." Heather secured Atticus in the seat belt in the back seat, sat down in the middle seat, and secured Finch on her other side. Steve and Sebastian placed the supplies and paperwork in the trunk. Jim got in the front passenger seat and turned around to the crowded back seat. Heather was petting both dogs simultaneously. Sebastian shut the trunk lid and shook Steve's hand. He got in the driver's side and started the car. "Are we all ready to go?"

"Yup, let's get these babies home," said Heather. "Are you guys ready to see your new house? You are going to love it there. I just know it."

Sebastian pulled out of the driveway and headed back to Heather's home.


	24. Chapter 24

**Author's note: Thank you to all of my followers. Looks like I picked up a few. Hopefully, I didn't lose any. Between Thanksgiving, my birthday, and getting ready for Christmas, I've been busy and neglectful about writing lately. I've also been trying to make some decisions about this story. I'm still going to write it, but I'm changing a few minor things from my initial plan. I think it will be better because of these small alterations. I'll be finishing this story in a few chapters and then starting a sequel that picks up a little later.**

Chapter 24

Sebastian parked the car beside the house. Heather opened the back door and led the dogs out and onto the front lawn. "This is your new home, guys. Do you need to go potty? Go tinkle and poop-poops before we go inside, okay? Then I'll introduce you to the kitties and show you around," she told the dogs.

Sebastian and Jim walked inside. "Jim, are you sure she's ready to be left alone tonight? Do you think one of us should stay until the guys get here? Just to be sure."

Jim sighed. "I know what you're saying and, yes, I would like someone to be here with her, but we both really need to get back. You said the cameras here are going up tonight after we leave for the airport, right? And the cameras and trackers are going in her car tomorrow morning?"

Sebastian nodded. "She's going for an oil change tomorrow at 9 am and that's when the cameras and tracking stuff will be installed by our guy. She's dropping the car off and Kate's picking her up and they're going shopping. The shop is supposed to call her when the car's ready."

"How soon can our guys get here?"

"I going to try to get them here by Monday. It'll be tight, but I think it's doable. I'm going to have to work my ass off to pull it off, but I've done more with less time."

"Call Deakon to start working on it now. Let's see how much he can get done before we get back. I want them here ASAP. The fewer days she's alone, the better." The two men heard Heather walk in the front door and turned to her.

"Everything okay with the dogs, my dear," asked Jim.

Heather grimaced, "So far, so good. Now the hard part. Where are the cats? This is NOT going to be pretty. Calypso, Downey. Come meet your new brothers." The cats lazily ambled out of the kitchen and, seeing the dogs, froze in their tracks. Downey arched his back and began hissing loudly. Calypso ran underneath the coffee table and growled a demonic moan. Both dogs sat still and didn't react to either cats' misbehavior. Heather released both dogs from their leashes and hung them up by the front door. She started to walk towards Downey, sweetly calling his name, but the cat backed up and continued his hissing. She turned towards the coffee table to try to reach Calypso, but the cat reached out and swiped out at Heather's ankle.

"Okay, you two. These are your new doggie brothers, Atticus and Finch. They are staying. You will be nice to them. You will not bully them. They will be nice to you too. Everyone has to behave. If you don't like this, just wait a few days because Mommy is going to have some house guests who you will have to be nice to because they will be here to protect Mommy from bad people. So, deal with it you two." She turned towards Sebastian, "Bash, these guys are okay with cats and dogs, right? No allergies. The dogs probably won't climb on them, but if the cats get comfortable enough, they might get on their laps. They can always pick the cats up and move them off their laps, but the cats will keep trying."

"No, they should be fine. None of them have pet allergies that I'm aware of."

"Ok, good. How about some lunch? What about Chinese? We can order for take out and one of us can go pick it up or we can go eat there. What do you think?"

Jim thought for a moment. "Let's eat here. Sebastian, will you go pick it up for us if we call the order in? I feel like we've been running around all morning long and I haven't had a minute alone with Heather."

"Sure. Heather, do you have a menu?"

"Yeah, it's on the fridge. It's that place we always go to down by the CVS. In the strip mall. I know I want the General Tso's Chicken with brown rice. You guys go ahead and get whatever you want and then call the order in."

Jim and Sebastian looked through the menu, made their choices, and then Jim called the order in. Sebastian left, and Jim sat down on the couch next to Heather. The dogs flanked the left and right sides of the couch and perked up their heads momentarily when Jim sat down. Heather flashed them the "settle" hand sign and they laid their heads back down. Heather laid her head down on Jim's lap and sighed. "Do you really have to leave tonight? I just met you and now you're leaving me," she said with a light whine in her voice. "I'm going to miss you. You and your kisses. Where am I supposed to get my good morning kisses now? From the dogs?"

Jim lightly ran his hands through her hair. "I know, but yeah, Sebastian and I really do have to leave tonight, love. There's a lot we have to take care of back home. Criminal Consulting is kind of a 24/7 job and as much as I want to stay here with you, I can't. But, hey, you're coming to visit in 2 weeks. That's not very long and I promise we will spend a lot of time together then. I'm already trying to find a way to clear room in my schedule for us. I think I might introduce you to my brother and Davin."

"Oh, Jim, I'm not sure if I'm ready to meet your family. What if they don't like me?"

"Beau and Dav are going to love you. You and Dav can talk about culinary stuff and you and Beau are so alike. Besides, how can someone not love you?"

"Umm, may I remind you that the whole reason you came over here was to kill me? That's just one example of how someone can not like me. A bit extreme, yes, but still."

"I was wrong. Treasure hearing that because I will never repeat that statement. I promise they will like you and if they don't, then I'm sure you will win them over with your charm. Now, stop worrying about it. Only happiness for the rest of the day. I insist, and I always get what I want."

"Ok, only happiness today." Heather laid there enjoying the feel of Jim playing with her hair. It was one of her favorite feelings. It was both very sensual and deeply relaxing. Heather's eyes started to get heavy as Jim continued stroking her head. She soon felt them closing involuntarily, as a deep sense of calm overtook her. Jim looked down after a few minutes and saw her eyes closed and a faint smile on her face. "Blimey, she falls asleep easily. I wish I could sleep like that." He smiled and thought to himself, "She looks so peaceful when she sleeps. She's like an angel. My angel. I would do anything to protect her. Jim reached for his phone. He texted Deakon to start working on the plans to get the men over here this weekend and to tell him to take care of Patterson himself before they returned. Jim put the phone down and relaxed back against the couch, wrapping his arm around Heather's body.

Sebastian returned after a while with the food. Jim woke Heather up and they all went into the kitchen and served themselves. After lunch, Heather tried to coax the cats out from their respective hiding places with treats, but the cats were standing firm in their rejection of their new housemates. Heather gave up and the trio took the dogs outside and ran through the commands with the dogs for practice.

They returned inside and played board games for a few hours. Heather beat both of the men in both games of _90's Trivial Pursuit_ , but Jim came out on top during the game of Perfection with the fastest time of 37 seconds. Heather came in second with a best time of 56 seconds, and Sebastian's best time was 59 seconds. Calypso finally came out from hiding when Jim went into the kitchen to get Heather another drink. He returned with a Coke Zero in one hand and the dark-haired cat curled up in the other.

Handing the soda to her, Jim said, "Calypso came running over to me and started meowing furiously until I picked her up. I tried to put her back down, but she kept trying to climb onto my back, so I guess I have a new friend now." Heather laughed and reached up to take the cat from him. "Lipsky, did you find yourself a new daddy? Huh, little girl?" Jim sat down next to her and put the cat on her lap. Calypso climbed back onto Jim's lap and began purring loudly. "Well, I guess I've been replaced," said Heather. "You can take her back to London with you if you want. She seems to prefer you now, the little traitor."

"Tempting, but I'll have to say no right now. She would probably just turn on me then one day. Maybe rat me out to the Yard in exchange for some catnip."

"Speaking of returning to London, when did you guys want to leave for the airport? Your flight leaves at 6, correct? I would recommend leaving here no later than 4."

Sebastian spoke up, "4 o'clock sounds good. Jim, you are all packed, correct. I have a few little things to add to my carry-on, but otherwise I'm done."

"Same here. So that gives us about an hour before we need to leave. Is there anything you two want to do in that hour? I want to make a few calls before we leave, but outside of that, I'm good."

"I just want to hang out with you for as long as possible, Jim. So, make your calls and then come back to the couch. At the risk of sounding clingy, I'm already starting to miss you," sighed Heather.

"Jim, do you need me to handle those calls for you," questioned Sebastian.

"Yes, call Deakon and check on Patterson and ask him about the progress he's made with Heather's security."

Sebastian nodded and excused himself into the kitchen. Jim picked the cat up off his lap and placed her back on the floor. She hissed at Atticus and ran upstairs. Jim pulled Heather onto his lap and kissed her deeply. "I'm going to miss you too, love." They made out for a few minutes until they heard Sebastian clear his throat. "Excuse me boss, but I have a status update for you." Jim nodded, and he and Heather turned their heads towards the tall blond. "Patterson has been handled. Clean-up is taking care of the scene now. Everyone has plane tickets and two hotel rooms have been booked. Deak thought that two would be best, so that the man returning from his shift could sleep while the third individual could be up and active. Two cars have been reserved. The men are set to arrive Sunday night at 1130 pm. I still have Deakon on the phone. He would like to know how you would like to arrange for the men and Heather to initially meet up. Would you like to speak to him, sir?"

Before Jim could speak, Heather did. "Hand me the phone, Bash. I will coordinate that aspect." Sebastian looked at Jim and Jim nodded. Heather took the phone and spoke, "Hello, this is Dr. Weire. Is this Deakon?"

"Yes, ma'am. I was expecting to speak to Mr. Moriarty or Mr. Moran regarding this."

"Well, since they will be working with me, I thought it would be best if you spoke with me directly. I assume this will not be a problem."

"No, of course not, ma'am. Ma'am, the security men will be arriving at BWI at 1130 Sunday evening. When would you like for them to arrive at your location?"

"Well, I imagine that they will be a bit tired after such a long flight. I understand that they will be renting two vehicles for their stay here. How about all three of them come over to my house from the airport. I live approximately 20 minutes away. It sounds like I should expect them sometime around 1215 or so, depending on the speed of baggage claim and such. Please give them my cell number and have them call me when they are about 5 minutes away from my house, so I can open the security gate for them when they arrive. I will give them a quick tour and answer any immediate questions, then the two not working the first shift can go to the hotel and settle in. The individual working the first shift can start immediately. I will probably go to bed shortly after they leave. He is free to sleep in my guest room if he would like. I don't work Monday, so after I get up, which probably won't be until 9 or 10 in the morning, he and I can talk some more and go over some things. I understand they will be working 16-hour shifts, is that correct?"

"Yes, ma'am. That's accurate. The men are not permitted to sleep while on duty, though. Their job is to protect you as the asset."

"Well, I do appreciate that, but the flight from London is long and travel can be tiring, so I don't mind if that first person naps Sunday night. When the other two work their first shifts with me, we will sit down together and discuss things as well. I know that the men are working, but this is my home and I would like for everyone to be comfortable here. Has Sebastian given you a rundown on the security measures I currently have in place?"

"Mr. Moriarty did, ma'am. I will include that in my briefing of the men. Do you have any further questions?"

"No. Hold on for a moment. I will hand the phone back to Sebastian in case he needs anything further. Thank you for your work on this matter." Sebastian took the phone and walked back into the kitchen.

"Kitten, my men are not to be sleeping while on duty. Promise me you won't let them. Thank you for your hospitality, but their job is keeping you safe, not relaxing and treating this like a holiday. These are not your houseguests. They are your employees. Please treat them as such."

Heather rolled her eyes. "Deakon said essentially the same thing. Fine, no sleeping while they are at work. Can they at least call me by my first name? 'Ma'am' makes me feel about 80 years old. Dr. Weire in the hospital, but outside of the hospital, I insist on 'Heather.' Also, if they're not working, can I take them out drinking with me? Obviously, the one on duty is the designated driver, but the other two can get hammered, right? Do I have any rules I have to follow? I've never had private security before, so I don't know the rules. Well, that's not totally true. Because of my dad, I did have security of sorts, but they were more for my dad than me. And they were government agents, not private security. I didn't really like them. They reported everything I did back to my dad, which was really annoying, but on the upside, they were pretty easy to slip. Man, they got so mad when I would get away from them." Heather laughed at the memory of that one night the summer before her senior year in college. "It took them 4 hours to find me and by that time, I was home and the effects of the cocaine had already worn off. Mostly. If Daddy had listened to them and taken me for a drug test, my ass would have been so busted. Thank God, he didn't think me capable of being that wild." She shook her head and smiled. "Good times. Good times. Anyway … what were you saying, honey? Something about sleeping or something. Sorry, I wandered off for a moment."

Jim stared at her for a few seconds. "Um, yeah. We're going to talk about that later, but my point is my men are not permitted to sleep while on duty. Also, since you brought it up there, no trying to get away from them either. They are assigned to you for a reason. If you have a problem with them, give Sebastian or me a call and we will take care of it. Now about the cocaine …"

Sebastian walked back into the room at that moment. "Okay, unless you need anything else from me, I'm going to head upstairs for a bit."

After Sebastian walked upstairs, Jim resumed holding Heather in his arms. They sat back and listened to the classical music playing through the stereo system and just enjoying each other's company. Though neither one spoke it, they both knew that the following two weeks would be tough and feel too long. After a while, Heather glanced at the clock and reminded Jim that he still had a few things to pack. They walked upstairs, and Jim finished his packing, while Heather stripped the bed and tidied up, all the while trying not to get emotional. She chided herself for feeling so sad. "C'mon, get it together, girl! He's not leaving for war. You'll see him in a few weeks. Chill out! You are setting feminism back 1,000 years acting this way. You're not some helpless waif. You're a Rockstar. Get yourself together," she fussed at herself.

Sebastian stuck his head in the room and asked if they were almost ready to go. Heather picked up the sheets and Jim grabbed his bags and they walked out of the room. Heather put the sheets in the washer along with a soap pod and started the laundry. She joined the guys downstairs and they walked out to the car. Sebastian loaded the luggage into the trunk and slid into the front seat. Jim joined Heather in the back seat. Heather leaned against Jim and closed her eyes. She took a deep inhale of Jim's scent and held it for as long as she could, knowing that this was one memory she wished could freeze in time. She felt the tears prick up in her eyes, but blinked them back. Heather remembered Jim's words of "only happiness today" and swore to hold to them for as long as possible. Jim dipped down and kissed the top of her head and rubbed her arm, whispering "two weeks." She nodded.

Traffic was relatively light going to the airport and they arrived slightly earlier than planned. Sebastian pulled up to the departure drop off area and parked the car. Sebastian opened the trunk and got the luggage out, while Jim and Heather remained in the car for a few minutes alone.

"So, I guess this is goodbye for now, huh?" said Heather. "Just for right now, love, just for right now. Two weeks will fly by, I promise," said Jim. "I know, but … I … I'll still miss you. I'm sorry," Heather replied, the tears starting to slowly spill out of her eyes.

"Hey, Kitten, don't cry! Everything is going to be okay. We'll see each other soon. I promise." Jim enveloped Heather in a tight embrace and rubbed her back. "It's only two weeks and we can call and text whenever. C'mon, let me see a smile before I go. I can't leave a beautiful woman crying like this. I'm not a monster. A very bad man, yes, but not a _monster."_

Heather smiled at the bad joke. "Alright, come on now. We shouldn't leave Sebastian out on his own. Lord only knows what kind of trouble he'll get into without supervision." Heather wiped away the tears and they exited the vehicle. Sebastian was standing a respectful distance away, ever aware of every detail surrounding him. He handed the keys to Heather and gave her a hug. "Bash, thanks for coming. And thanks for bringing Jim. Do you have everything you need? Did you tell Kate you were leaving?" Heather asked.

Sebastian nodded and said, "I gave Kate my mobile number, my personal mobile number. She said she would be in touch. Thanks for having me. This didn't go exactly the way I had planned, but I got to meet Kate and she's definitely a positive. I'll see you in two weeks, I guess. Be good!" Heather pulled him in for a very tight hug. "Bashie, keep Jim safe for me, okay? Promise? He's very important." She pulled back and looked him in the eyes. Sebastian kissed the top of her head and promised he would. Jim and Heather embraced tightly one more time and kissed each other deeply. Neither one wanted to let go, but after a few minutes, Sebastian quietly cleared his throat and called for Jim. Heather felt the tears pricking back up in her eyes, but refused to allow them to flow. She plastered a large, cheery smile on her face and said goodbye to her two favorite guys.

She stood there on the sidewalk until they disappeared into the crowds and then got into her car and started the drive home. Halfway home, she decided that home was the last place she wanted to be and decided to indulge in some retail therapy. She drove to Target and spent the next two hours wandering the store buying things. Just random things. She knew that most of what she bought would be returned the next day, as she had no use for it, but it occupied her mind and kept the grief to a manageable level. As she sat in the parking lot, she tried to figure out what to eat for dinner. Nothing appealed to her. She drove to the grocery store and bought some Ben & Jerry's, a roll of chocolate chip cookie dough, and two bottles of wine. It was going to be a drunk and fat girl kind of night. She drove home and brought her bags into the house and set them down in the kitchen. After feeding the animals, she checked her voice mail. There was a message from Jim, saying that he and Sebastian were safely in the air and on their way home. He said that he loved her and was going to take some sleeping medicine after he got off the phone, but that Sebastian was planning on staying awake for a while longer if she needed to get ahold of him. She texted back to Sebastian's phone that she loved them both and to have a safe journey. She asked Sebastian to not wake Jim to deliver the message, but to make sure that he ate a sensible breakfast and to call or text when they landed in London. She also reminded him that phones are supposed to be fully off during air travel. Heather walked into the kitchen and opened one bottle of wine, poured some into a large coffee mug, and got a spoon and the ice cream, and carried it all into the living room. Flopping down on the couch, she turned on the tv and directed the voice app on the tv to turn to Investigation Discovery channel. A new episode of Homicide Hunters with Lt. Joe Kenda was just starting and Heather settled in for a long night of wine, ice cream, murder, and self-pity.


	25. Chapter 25

**Author's note: Thanks to the guest who left the review regarding the Bianca del Rio reference. I'm glad you liked it. I love reviews and am especially pleased when one of my corny jokes actually get a laugh. I deeply apologize for the far too long gap in posting. I've been meaning to get back to this, but life and bipolar disorder got in the way. Sorry, sorry, sorry. I will attempt to be better to you guys in the future.**

Chapter 25

Heather woke up a few hours later to an empty pint of ice cream and the cats helping themselves to a half-eaten roll of room temperature cookie dough. She groaned and picked herself up off the couch. Waving off the cats, she grabbed the ice cream carton, cookie dough, and empty wine glass and headed to the kitchen. Discarding the trash, she placed the wine glass in the sink and washed the stickiness off her hands. Calling for the dogs, she opened the back door and stepped outside with them. After relieving themselves and running around a bit, they trotted back up to her and sat at attention at her feet. Heather reached down and pet both of them. The trio re-entered the house and walked upstairs to Heather's bedroom. Heather left the bedroom door open behind her and the dogs walked in behind her. She changed into her pajamas, brushed her teeth, and took her medicine.

Crawling into bed, she pulled out her phone and sent a text to Jim to let him know that she was going to bed now, but to still call when they got home, despite the time difference. Heather felt a pang of sadness, knowing that Jim was so far away, but reminded herself that he was just a phone call away. She invited the dogs up on the bed with her, but they refused, instead laying down at the foot of the bed near the bedroom door. She heard Downey hiss as he walked into the room. She called him to her, but he ran off, his collar bell tinkling down the stairs. "Brat!" She thought to herself. "The dogs are staying, cat. Get used to it!" She called out after him. She rolled over and turned on the white noise machine to the thunderstorm setting, double-checked her morning alarm, and laid her head down on the soft pillow.

"Give me fuel, give me fire, give me that which I desire" screamed out from Heather's phone. Heather's alarm ringtone woke her with a start the next morning. She slapped her hand around blindly, searching for the phone to off button. She managed to knock her glasses off the bedside table, kick both of the cats, and pee her pants a tiny bit before finding the snooze button. Groaning, she pulled the covers off and crawled out of bed. She got down on the floor to hunt for her glasses, while the cats aggressively rubbed against her, singing their song of intense starvation and abandonment. She slid her glasses on and told the cats to cram it. Stumbling into the bathroom, she used the toilet and took a shower. After getting dressed, she followed the animals downstairs and fed the cats. She let the dogs out to run around in the yard for a bit. She poured the dogs food and placed down on the floor. Picking up her phone, she saw that she had a text message from Jim. She opened it and read it. He said that he and Bash had arrived safely, but he didn't want to wake her up by calling. He also told her that he loved her and that she should call when she got up. She smiled. Heather set the phone down and it immediately rang. She looked down and saw that it was Kate. "Hey, Kate! How are you?" she said by way of greeting. "I'm good. I'm just about to leave the house, so I should be there in about 20 minutes. Is that okay," replied Kate. "Um, yeah? Are we doing something today? Did we have something planned? My mind is drawing a total blank," questioned Heather. "Uh, yeah. You have an oil change and we're going shopping. You asked me to drive you like a month ago. Did you forget," laughed Kate.

"Oh, that's right. I did forget. Oh, what would I do without you, Katie? Yeah, 20 minutes is fine. I'm feeding the menagerie right now. I just have to throw some make up and shoes on. I better go finish getting ready. Thanks again," said Heather. "Bye, Heather." Kate laughed and hung up the phone. Heather called the dogs back inside and showed them their food. She ran upstairs and finished getting ready. She could get some breakfast after they dropped the car off. Kate called right as Heather was finishing applying her lipstick. She answered with a quick "I'll be down in a minute to unlock the gate" and hung up. She walked downstairs, unlocked the gate and the front door, and walked outside to greet her friend. Kate and Heather walked in the door and the dogs swarmed over to Kate. Heather called out the stand down commands and introduced them to Kate, indicating that she was a friend and okay. The dogs closely investigated her, and after finding her acceptable, sat flanking Heather. "So, Jim convinced you to get the dogs after all," said Kate. "Actually, it was more Bashie. He got quite stern with me and I decided that if he really felt that strongly about it, I would give in. They seem very nice and, as you can tell, are trained well, so we'll see how it goes. The cats are just thrilled about their new housemates. They have been so welcoming and kind. I'm glad that my cats have such great manners and are so flexible." Heather's voice dripped with sarcasm on that last bit.

The two women walked out the front door and got into their respective cars. Pulling out of the driveway and onto the road, they made their way to the auto dealer. After filling out the paperwork, Heather got into Kate's car and they headed into town. On the way, they caught each other up on their new romances. Kate couldn't stop gushing about Sebastian and his "tight ass and huge muscles."

"I know. I do have to admit he is quite something in the sack. Whoo, man!" Heather thought back to one particularly athletic session with the blonde and bit her lip. "Good times, very, very good times indeed." She smiled despite herself. Shaking the thought from her head, she asked, "Are you going to call him? The number he gave you is his private number. Only like 3 or 4 people have it. You're on a very select list, madam. Treasure it."

Kate looked impressed. "I want to, but I'm not sure. He's crazy hot and the sex was unbelievable, but he's in England and I'm here and long-distance relationships are hard. Tell me more about him. What does he do for a living? How long has he been single? Why is he still single? What is his weird thing? Is he a serial killer? That's it, isn't it? He's a 'Mummy's house basement dwelling serial killer with a huge dick, a killer smile, and a trail of baby mamas and kids. UGH! Why do I always fall for the fucked-up ones? Why, I ask you, WHY!?" She wailed and beat on the steering wheel. Heather gazed over at her friend. "Are you done now, Drama Queen? Or is there more of a traumatic scene to paint? Maybe you want to hear about his untreated herpes or his rampant erotic attraction to Scottish farm animals? Would you be pleased to hear about that, Princess Woe Is Me?" Kate glared at her. "No, go ahead. Tell me more about him."

"Thank you. First off, he doesn't even live in the same country as his parents, much less the same house. They are still in Ireland, a really pretty little village about 30 minutes south of Dublin. He is not close to either of them, because his dad has always been an absolute fucking asshole and his mom cares more about appearances than actual parenting. She completely hates the fuck out of me, while his dad adores me, but only because he's so primed and ready to get in my pants, it's pathetic. To the best of Sebastian and my knowledge, he has no children. Or pants pests. I was kidding about the herpes and the farm animals, by the way. His flat is lovely for a bachelor's pad. It's very modern, actually. I used some of the ideas from his place in decorating my house. He does work a lot. Too much in my opinion, but I'm not really one to talk I suppose. He's really a great guy. We met several years ago and were friends with benefits for a while. I wanted more. A real relationship, but he didn't or couldn't, so we just agreed to be friends. He's my best guy friend and easily one of my closest friends. He knows everything about me and I him. He heads security for Jim. Has since shortly after he got back from the service. Sometimes it seems like Jim can't fart without Bash knowing about it and planning out 15 different contingency plans for it beforehand." Heather paused. Kate didn't necessarily need to know all of the details of Sebastian's job. Besides, he didn't technically meet the legal definition for a "serial killer", so she wasn't even really lying by omission there. "And what's there to 'not know?' He likes you. You like him. There is obviously great sexual chemistry there. You are both smart, funny, successful people with active passports and loads of vacation time. Live a little. Have some fun. Is he Mr. Right? Maybe, maybe not, but he would at least be a great Mr. Right Now. You know he gets along with your best friend and her boyfriend. That's a big something right there. Hell, your best friend not only approves of him, she adores him. She knows his secrets, so if he hurts you, she can help you get him back in the most perfect way. It's a complete win-win situation.

Kate had to admit she made a great argument. "I know. I just having been thinking. Something just seemed slightly … I don't know … off about him. Like he was telling me 99% of the truth. Almost everything, except for one little tiny detail. Maybe I'm just being paranoid. Maybe my therapist is right. I like to live in chaos, so I self-sabotage relationships. I just don't know if I want a Mr. Right Now. I think I want a Mr. Right. I kinda want to settle down and get married and have some kids now. Maybe. I mean, I find myself walking past the newborn nursery more and more now, even when it's way out of my way. I hear my sisters talk about their kids driving them nuts and get sorta jealous like 'That's so cute that Janie cut her own hair with the art scissors. I remember when Suzette was little and cut her own hair and now she's dealing with the same thing with her kid. I wouldn't mind freaking out a little over my kid getting ahold of the scissors and being creative. It could even be cute. I know what you're thinking. But, I could be a good mom, right? I'm already like a mom to my patients, sometimes. I could do that, but with my kid or two." Kate stared ahead with a panicked, nervous look on her face.

Heather was quiet for a minute, taking in the serious turn in the conversation. Softly, she placed her hand on her friend's arm. "Katherine Lucille Bringleman, you would be the greatest mom ever. You believe me there, young lady. If finding someone fantastic to marry and have a whole litter of kids is what you want, you have my full support. I didn't know that you were thinking this way. How long has that been going on?"

"Um … a while. I've been talking to Carole about it some. I've always wanted to have kids to some degree, but I kind of put other stuff before it because I figured I always had time. But some stuff has happened that made me realize that I don't have an infinite amount of time. I don't want to keep putting it off. There's no perfect time, but there is 'out of time.' I'm already two years away from being considered 'advanced maternal age.' I'm hoping I take after all the other women in my family who get pregnant thinking about their husbands, but you never know. It would be just my luck that all these years I've been so conscientious and paranoid about my birth control, then it turns out I'm as unfertile as a salted nuclear wasteland. I'm just … scared I guess. Scared that I won't be able to have a kid. That I screwed up and wasted my fertile years building a career and living it up and enjoying life. Plus, I don't … never mind."

"That's a lot of thinking without your best friend's support. I'm sorry if I haven't been available for you as much as I should have been. You gotta let me know when you need me for stuff like that. Those are big thoughts. I wish I had known so I could have pulled my head out of my ass to be there for you. I'm sorry, kiddo. I'll try to do better by ya." Heather stared out the window for a moment, trying not to cry. She felt terrible that she had failed her friend in such a big way.

Kate said, "No, I should have reached out. I should have told you what was brewing around in my brain. I kept it locked up. Please don't feel bad. You didn't know because I didn't tell you. I didn't want to tell you because I was afraid of hurting you. You … well your cancer … it was one of the things that got me thinking. I'm a little afraid that they're going to find something wrong with me. Maybe not cancer, but something that will prevent me from having kids. I know it's dumb. As a nurse, I know it's dumb, but right now, I'm not a nurse. I'm a woman who wants to get pregnant and have kids and be a mom and I'm stressing. Stressing for probably no good reason but stressing." Kate smiled and pulled into a parking space. "I'm sorry. I don't want to hurt you. You are so important to me, but you being sick planted a seed of worry in my head. I know you are sensitive about it. I'm not trying to rub salt in your wounds. I know not being able to have kids hurts you. I didn't want to say anything to hurt you."

Heather shook her head and laughed a little. "We are quite a pair. Falling all over ourselves apologizing to the other one for imaginary hurts. How about we agree to be more open with each other and then go do some hardcore shopping? Deal?" Katie hugged her friend and agreed. "Let's go. Have you eaten? I could go for a Cinnabon. You?"

"You are reading my mind. I haven't eaten breakfast and I'm famished. I do have to call Jim quick. I was supposed to call him when I got up and I kind of forgot with trying to get ready. Oops. Should I convey any messages to Sebastian from you or are you handling that on your own?" Kate's phone dinged. "Well speak of the devil. That's Sebastian himself. Go and call Jim. I will call Sebastian for a few minutes. Take your time."

Heather walked off and sat down on a nearby bench. She pulled up Jim's mobile number and placed the call. His warm Irish tone filled the line almost immediately, warming Heather's heart and releasing a cascade of butterflies in her stomach. "Good morning, Dr. Weire. Up already? How did you sleep?" Heather blushed, "Well top of the morning to you Mr. Moriarty. I'm surprised to hear you awake. I would have thought you would be catching up on your beauty rest. I've been awake for about an hour or so. I forgot to call you in the rush of getting ready this morning. I forgot about my car appointment until Kate called me. Kate and I are out shopping now. I would have called you a while ago, but she and I got into an interesting conversation in the car. Girl talk, really, but important, so I couldn't interrupt to make a phone call. She's on the phone with him now. He called her."

"That naughty boy is not supposed to be on the phone. He is supposed to be planning something for me. Should I be evil and make him come in here right now, so I can yell at him? On second thought, if I do that then I can't talk to you. I would prefer talking to you. I'll yell at him later. By the way, never ever say 'Top of the Morning' to an Irish man. It's just not done. It's like asking us about our Lucky Charms cereal. But, I'll let it slide because you're so sexy."

"You're pretty sexy yourself there, sir. But note taken. Be nice to Sebastian. You did kind of hijack his holiday, so … you kind of owe him a little. Plus, and please don't say anything to him about this, but I'm not sure if he and Kate are completely on the same page. There's a lot to it, but they may be looking for two different kinds of relationships. There's a lot going on right now, but yeah. I didn't get a chance to really talk to him about her, so we'll see what develops. But, please don't talk to him about this unless he brings it up and even then, don't say anything about the stuff I tell you about. Listen, Kate's coming over and she looks kind of not great, so I should probably go. I love you so much and I can't wait to see you soon. I'll call you later."

"I love you too." Jim and Heather hung up the phones. Heather stood up and said, "So, are we eating happy Cinnabon or sad Cinnabon?"

"Conflicted Cinnabon. I didn't tell Sebastian about wanting marriage and kids and everything, but I did kind of hint about a more serious relationship than fuck friends. He seemed evasive on the idea. Kind of nervous and like he was suddenly in a hurry to get off the phone. I want to be hopeful, but it's kind of hard with that kind of reaction. You know him better than me. What is he thinking and feeling right now?"

Heather licked her lips quickly. "Well, um Jim did say that Bash was supposed to be busy with some big project, so maybe he legitimately was in a hurry. He did just get back from holiday, so there's probably plenty of work piled up for him. Plus, Sebastian is not the best at feelings. His dad and the army kind of squashed that out of him. He was a sniper in the army and those guys are generally better at their jobs when emotions don't factor in as much as facts. I wouldn't really overthink it too much if I were you. You know guys and feelings. They traditionally aren't the greatest mix. Hey, come on! Let's shop and be frivolous and worry about guys later. This is a day all about us! Let's go stuff our faces with too much sugar and fat and then bitch about how the girls who are skinnier than us must all be bulimic crack whores. You know, like old times." Heather laughed and winked at her friend.


End file.
